Category: Judicial Nominations

In large part due to ongoing attendance issues, the Senate has made limited progress on judicial nominations in recent weeks, with only three confirmations since March 16. As of April 6, there are still 18 Article III nominees pending on the Senate floor, waiting for cloture and confirmation votes.

With the Senate on recess, the earliest there could be any movement on judicial nominees is the week of April 17, when the recess is over. Numerous reports have indicated that Senator Fetterman intends to return to the Senate that week as well. This will help alleviate some of the attendance issues in the Democratic Caucus.

As of April 6, there are 99 Article III vacancies, 74 of which are current. There are 36 pending nominees: 18 waiting for floor votes, 12 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 6 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 119 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

On the Bench will return when the full Senate is back from the April recess and judicial nominations activity resumes.

With several continued absences in the Democratic Caucus, the Senate made little progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, Magistrate Judge Matthew Brookman (S.D. Ind.) has been the only confirmation of the week. He was confirmed in a voice vote. This leaves 18 nominees pending on the Senate floor, awaiting cloture and confirmation votes.

The Senate is set to go on a two-week recess and will not return to session until April 17. This means there will be no more confirmations for nearly three weeks.

As of March 30, there are 99 Article III vacancies, 73 of which are current. There are 36 pending nominees: 18 waiting for floor votes, 12 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 6 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 119 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

With several absences in the Democratic Caucus, the Senate made little progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher (D. Colo.) has been the only confirmation of the week. He was confirmed in a 53-43 vote. This leaves 19 nominees pending on the Senate floor, awaiting cloture and confirmation votes.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week. The hearing featured 2 Article III nominees: Judge Amanda Brailsford (D. Idaho) and Magistrate Judge Kato Crews (D. Colo.). Both nominees are eligible for a committee vote.

Earlier this week, the White House announced the latest slate of judicial nominees. The slate featured 4 Article III nominees: Jeremy Daniel (N.D. Ill.), Magistrate Judge Brendan Hurson (D. Md.), Magistrate Judge Matthew Maddox (D. Md.), and Darrel Papillion (E.D. La.).

As of March 23, there are 100 Article III vacancies, 73 of which are current. There are 37 pending nominees: 19 waiting for floor votes, 12 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 6 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 118 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate made limited progress on judicial nominations this week with only one confirmation. Jessica Clarke (S.D.N.Y.) was confirmed by the Senate in a 48-43 vote. There are still 20 nominees who are awaiting action on the Senate floor.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to hold an executive business meeting this week. The Committee canceled the meeting, likely due to Senator Feinstein’s continued absence. The Committee has noticed a hearing for March 22. As of March 16, the nominees who will appear at this hearing are not public, but it is likely that several judicial nominees will appear.

As of March 16, there are 98 Article III vacancies, 74 of which are current. There are 34 pending nominees: 20 waiting for floor votes, 10 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 4 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 117 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate continued to make substantial progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the has Senate confirmed 5 Article III nominees: Justice Maria Kahn (2d Cir.) in a 51-42 vote, Magistrate Judge Robert Ballou (W.D. Va.) in a 59-37 vote, Arun Subramanian (S.D.N.Y.) in a 59-37 vote, Judge James Simmons Jr. (S.D. Cal.) in a 51-43 vote, and Magistrate Judge Andrew Schopler (S.D. Cal.) in a 56-39 vote. Despite this progress, there are still 21 nominees who are awaiting action on the Senate floor.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting this week. The Committee was set to vote on several candidates, but they were unable to due to Senator Feinstein’s continued absence. At the meeting, the Committee advanced only 1 nominee: Magistrate Judge Matthew Brookman (S.D. Ind.). Brookman is now eligible for cloture and confirmation votes.

Judge Marco Hernandez (D. Or.) announced his intention to take senior status in August 2024. This will be the only current or known future vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

As of March 9, there are 98 Article III vacancies, 75 of which are current. There are 35 pending nominees: 21 waiting for floor votes, 10 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 4 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 116 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate made good progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate confirmed 6 Article III nominees: Jamar Walker (E.D. Va.) in a 52-41 vote, Margaret Guzman (D. Mass.) in a 49-48 vote, Jamal Whitehead (W.D. Wash.) in a 51-43 vote, Araceli Martinez-Olguin (N.D. Cal.) in a 49-48 vote, Judge Colleen Lawless (C.D. Ill.) in a 51-41 vote, and Magistrate Judge Jonathan Grey (E.D. Mich.) in a 49-42 vote. These confirmations continue the trend under the Biden-Harris Administration of diversifying the federal bench, as a majority of them are people of color.

The Senate also invoked cloture on 2 Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Gordon Gallagher (D. Colo.) and Judge James Simmons Jr. (S.D. Cal.). Their confirmation votes could come as soon as next week.

The Senate Judiciary Committee was scheduled to have an executive business meeting this week, where it was set to vote on several judicial nominees. The meeting, however, was cancelled.

As of March 2, there are 102 Article III vacancies, 79 of which are current. There are 40 pending nominees: 25 waiting for floor votes, 11 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 4 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 111 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.