Category: Judicial Nominations

The Senate made no progress on judicial nominations this week, as the lengthy January recess is still underway. The Senate is set to return on January 23, and the expectation is that judicial nominations activity will resume then.

According to reports, Judge Paul Watford (9th Cir.) is set to resign on May 31. Judge Watford is resigning from the bench well before becoming eligible for senior status. This will be the fourteenth current or known future vacancy at the circuit court level. If all the nominees from the last Congress are renominated, this will be the fifth circuit court vacancy without an announced nominee.

As of January 12, there are 111 Article III vacancies, 85 of which are current. There are 28 pending nominees: 0 waiting for floor votes, 25 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 3 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 97 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate briefly marked the start of the 118th Congress this week before leaving town for the January recess. With the Senate back in session, the White House announced the renomination of a majority of the nominees who were still pending at the end of the last Congress. More renominations are likely to come later this month. The expectation is the nominees who have been renominated will need a new vote out of the Senate Judiciary Committee but will not need to have a new hearing.

In late December, the White House announced its intent to nominate 6 new Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Matthew Brookman (S.D. Ind.), Michael Farbiarz (D.N.J.), Judge Marian Gaston (S.D. Cal.), Judge Wesley Hsu (C.D. Cal.), Judge Robert Kirsch (D.N.J.), and Mónica Ramírez Almadani (C.D. Cal.). Brookman, Farbiarz, and Kirsch were officially nominated with the group of renominations earlier this week.

As of January 5, there are 111 Article III vacancies, 84 of which are current. There are 28 pending nominees: 0 waiting for floor votes, 25 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 3 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 97 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration

Over the last few weeks, the Senate has continued to make progress on judicial nominations. Since September 9, the Senate has confirmed four Article III nominees: Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. (9th Cir.) in a 46-40 vote; Judge Sarah Merriam (2d Cir.) 53-44 vote, Lara Montecalvo (1st Cir.) in a 52-47 vote, and Judge Florence Pan (D.C. Cir.) in a 52-42 vote. This continues the recent uptick in circuit court confirmations. As of September 22, the Senate has confirmed 24 circuit court nominees. In the first two full years of the Trump Administration, there were 30 circuit court confirmations. There are still thirteen circuit court nominees pending in throughout the confirmation process.

Last Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held an executive business meeting for five Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Dana Douglas (5th Cir.), Bradley Garcia (D.C. Cir.), Jerry Blackwell (D. Minn.), Judge Frances Kay Behm (E.D. Mich.), and Anne Nardacci (N.D.N.Y.). All five received a majority vote and are now eligible for cloture and confirmation votes.

On Wednesday, the Committee held a hearing for six Article III nominees: Julie Rikelman (1st Cir.), Justice Maria Kahn (2d Cir.), Judge Margaret Guzman (D. Mass.), Jamal Whitehead (W.D. Wash.), Jamar Walker (E.D. Va.), and Araceli Martinez-Olguin (N.D. Cal.). All six nominees are eligible for a full committee vote.

On Thursday, the Committee held another executive business meeting for six Article III nominees: Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves (3d Cir.), Cindy Chung (3d Cir.), Kelley Hodge (E.D. Pa.), John Murphy (E.D. Pa.), Judge Mia Perez (E.D. Pa.), and Judge Kai Scott (E.D. Pa.). As is customary for the first time nominees are listed, all six nominees were held over. The nominees will now likely receive a full committee vote next week.

As of September 22, there are 114 Article III vacancies, 82 of which are current. Once all the judicial candidates are