On The Bench: Week April 27, 2023

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.