Category: Judicial Nominations

With the debt ceiling looming over Congress, there was limited progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, there has only been one Article III confirmation: Darrel Papillion (E.D. La.) in a 59-31 vote. There are still 21 nominees pending on the floor, waiting for cloture and confirmation votes.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting. At the markup, the Committee held over two nominees: Judge Ana de Alba (9th Cir.) and Judge Irma Ramirez (5th Cir.). Both will now likely receive a vote at the next executive business meeting.

As of June 1, there are 92 Article III vacancies, 72 of which are current. There are 29 pending nominees: 21 waiting for floor votes, 2 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 6 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 130 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

There was no progress on judicial nominations this week, as the Senate is on recess through the Memorial Day holiday. When the Senate returns, they are scheduled to vote on Darrel Papillion’s (E.D. La.) confirmation. Including Papillion, there are 22 nominees waiting for action from the full Senate.

There were media reports this week that Jabari Wamble is going to withdraw his nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. This would be the second withdrawn nominee this month.

As of May 25, there are 93 Article III vacancies, 71 of which are current. There are officially 32 pending nominees: 22 waiting for floor votes, 3 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 7 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 129 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

There was substantial progress on judicial nominations this week. The Senate confirmed 3 Article III nominees: Bradley Garcia (D.C. Cir.) in a 53-40 vote, Jeremy Daniel (N.D. Ill.) in a 56-40 vote, and Nancy Abudu (11th Cir.) in a 49-47 vote. These confirmations exemplify the White House’s commitment to diversifying the federal bench. Bradley Garcia is the first Latinx judge to ever serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Nancy Abudu is the first Black woman to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

As of this writing, the Senate is scheduled to be on recess next week. The next vote is scheduled for May 30 on Darrel Papillion’s (E.D. La.) confirmation vote.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 2 Article III nominees: Judge Ana de Alba (9th Cir.) and Judge Irma Ramirez (5th Cir.). Both nominees are now eligible for a committee vote.

On Thursday, the Committee held a mark-up. At the mark-up, no votes were taken on judicial nominations. After the mark-up, the media reported that Michael Delaney (1st Cir.) asked the White House to withdraw his nomination.

As of May 19, there are 92 Article III vacancies, 71 of which are current. There are 32 pending nominees: 22 waiting for floor votes, 3 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 7 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 129 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

There was some progress on judicial nominations this week. The Senate spent a majority of its floor time on executive branch nominees. However, the Senate did invoke cloture on Bradley Garcia (D.C. Cir.), setting up a confirmation vote as early as next week. If confirmed, Bradley Garcia would be the first Latinx judge to ever serve on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a mark-up. With Senator Feinstein back in attendance, the Committee was able to successfully advance 6 Article III nominees: Charnelle Bjelkengren (E.D. Wash.), Magistrate Judge Kato Crews (D. Colo.), Judge Marian Gaston (S.D. Cal.), Jeremy Daniel (N.D. Ill.), Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson (D. Md.), and Darrel Papillion (E.D. La.). All six nominees are eligible for cloture and confirmation votes.

As of May 11, there are 96 Article III vacancies, 72 of which are current. There are 35 pending nominees: 25 waiting for floor votes, 1 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 9 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 126 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate made substantial progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, there have been 6 Article III confirmations: Anthony Johnstone (9th Cir.) in a 49-45 vote, Orelia Merchant (E.D.N.Y.) in a 51-48 vote, Michael Farbiarz (D.N.J.) in a 65-34 vote, Judge LaShonda Hunt (N.D. Ill.) in a 56-41 vote, Judge Wesley Hsu (C.D. Cal.) in a 53-43 vote, and Judge Robert Kirsch (D.N.J.) in a 57-42 vote. These confirmations help alleviate some of the backlog of judicial nominees on the Senate floor. After these confirmations, there are still 20 Article III nominees waiting for cloture and confirmation votes.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a mark-up. Due to ongoing attendance issues, the Committee was unable to advance any Article III nominees out of Committee.

The White House announced the next slate of judicial nominees this week. The slate contained four district court nominees: Judge Loren AliKhan (D.D.C.), Susan DeClercq (E.D. Mich.), Judge Julia Munley (M.D. Pa.), and Judge Vernon Oliver (D. Conn.). This slate continues the White House’s trend of trying to diversify the federal bench, as a majority of these candidates are women, and a majority are people of color.

As of May 4, there are 97 Article III vacancies, 73 of which are current. Once the new nominees are officially nominated, there will be 36 pending nominees: 20 waiting for floor votes, 7 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 9 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 125 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

In other judiciary news, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on judicial ethics this week. The hearing seemed to be a response to the ongoing reporting about Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire Harland Crow by ProPublica.

Another week with limited progress on judicial nominations. As of this writing, there have been no confirmations, which means it will likely be at least a month between judicial confirmations. With the results of this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee mark-up, there are now 26 Article III nominees pending on the Senate floor.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a mark-up where they successfully voted 1 Article III nominee out of Committee and to the floor: Judge Amanda Brailsford (D. Idaho). Judge Brailsford is now eligible for a cloture and a confirmation vote.

The Senate invoked cloture on one nominee this week: Anthony Johnstone (9th Cir.). Johnstone can now be confirmed as soon as next week. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also filed cloture on 3 Article III nominees: Orelia Merchant (E.D.N.Y.), Michael Farbiarz (D.N.J.), and Judge Robert Kirsch (D.N.J.). At this time, it is unclear when the votes on these cloture motions will occur.

As of April 27, there are 103 Article III vacancies, 76 of which are current. There are 38 pending nominees: 26 waiting for floor votes, 7 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 5 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 119 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.