Category: Judicial Nominations

The Senate made limited progress on judicial nominations this week, with only two Article III confirmations. The Senate confirmed Judge Vernon Oliver (D. Conn.) in a 53-44 vote and Judge Rita Lin (N.D. Cal.) in a 52-45 vote. After last week’s successful Senate Judiciary Committee executive business meeting where 9 Article III nominees were advanced out of committee, there are still 23 Article III nominees pending on the floor awaiting cloture and confirmation votes.

Next Thursday, SJC is scheduled to have another executive business meeting, where it could advance up to 4 more Article III nominees to the floor.

As of September 22, there are 94 Article III vacancies, 69 of which are current. Once the new nominees are officially nominated, there will be 35 pending nominees: 23 waiting for floor votes, 4 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 8 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 143 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

As of this writing, the Senate has made limited progress on judicial nominations this week. Through Wednesday, the Senate has confirmed just one Article III nominee: Judge Jeffrey Cummings (N.D. Ill.) in a 50-45 vote. Much of the floor time this week in the Senate has focused on the appropriations bill with a government shutdown looming.

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold an executive business meeting, where as many as 9 Article III nominees could be voted out of committee. Any nominee voted out of committee will add to the backlog of 16 Article III nominees already pending on the floor.

As of September 13, there are 95 Article III vacancies, 71 of which are current. Once the new nominees are officially nominated, there will be 37 pending nominees: 16 waiting for floor votes, 13 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 7 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 141 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate returned from its August recess this week and resumed some judicial nominations activity. As of this writing, there have been no Article III confirmations this week, leaving 17 nominees still pending on the Senate floor awaiting cloture and confirmation votes.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 4 Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Joshua Kolar (7th Cir.), Richard Federico (10th Cir.), Judge Jeffrey Bryan (D. Minn.), and Judge Eumi Lee (N.D. Cal.). These nominees are now eligible for a committee vote.

Since the last On the Bench, the White House has announced two slates of judicial nominees. The slates have included 7 new Article III nominees: Colleen Holland (W.D.N.Y.), Magistrate Judge John Kazen (S.D. Tex.), Micah Smith (D. Haw.), Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai (D. Or.), Judge Shanlyn Park (D. Haw.), Jamel Semper (D.N.J.), and Kirk Sherriff (E.D. Cal.). These new slates continue this administration’s emphasis on diversifying the federal bench.

As of September 7, there are 95 Article III vacancies, 71 of which are current. Once the new nominees are officially nominated, there will be 38 pending nominees: 17 waiting for floor votes, 13 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 8 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 140 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate left for its August Recess last week and will not return until after Labor Day. When it returns, the Senate will have 17 Article III nominees waiting for it on the floor. Before leaving for the recess, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not file cloture on any judicial nominees.

On Monday, the current administration fell behind its predecessor on the number of federal judicial vacancies it has filled. President Biden has had 140 federal judges confirmed thus far, whereas former President Trump had had 144 judges confirmed by the end of July of his third year. For more on the pace of judicial confirmations, check out the last post on ACS’s Expert Forum.

As of August 3, there are 90 Article III vacancies, 69 of which are current. There are 31 pending nominees: 17 waiting for floor votes, 9 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 5 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 140 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

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

The Senate made very limited progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate did not confirm any Article III nominees this week. Barring any late changes, the Senate is expected to leave for its August recess by the end of the week. The Senate will not return until after Labor Day, where it will have 17 Article III nominees still pending on the floor.

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for 6 Article III nominees: Margaret Garnett (S.D.N.Y.), Magistrate Judge Jennifer Hall (D. Del.), Brandy McMillion (E.D. Mich.), Magistrate Judge Karoline Mehalchick (M.D. Pa.), Lisa Wang (Ct. Int’l Trade), and Joseph Laroski (Ct. Int’l Trade). These nominees are now eligible for a committee vote, which will likely happen sometime after the August recess.

On Thursday, the White House announced the next slate of judicial nominations. The slate contained 4 Article III nominees: Magistrate Judge Joshua Kolar (7th Cir.), Richard Federico (10th Cir.), Judge Jeffrey Bryan (D. Minn.), and Judge Eumi Lee (N.D. Cal.).

As of July 27, there are 90 Article III vacancies, 68 of which are current. Once the latest nominees are officially nominated, there will be 31 pending nominees: 17 waiting for floor votes, 9 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 5 waiting for hearings before the Committee. To date, 140 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

The Senate made limited progress on judicial nominations this week. As of this writing, the Senate confirmed just 1 Article III nominee: Rachel Bloomekatz (6th Cir.) in a 50-48 vote. There are still 17 nominees pending on the Senate floor, waiting for cloture and confirmation votes.

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a markup on Thursday where it advanced one judicial nominee to the floor: Judge Julia Munley (M.D. Pa.). Judge Munley is now eligible for cloture and confirmation votes.

As of July 20, there are 90 Article III vacancies, 68 of which are current. There are 27 pending nominees: 17 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, 140 Article III judges have been confirmed during the Biden-Harris Administration.

In other judiciary news, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday also voted on the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023. The bill has several provisions, including requiring the Court to adopt a code of conduct for Justices, and strengthening recusal and financial disclosure standards for the Justices. The legislation passed through the Committee in an 11-10 vote. It is now eligible to be considered by the full Senate.