On the Bench: Week of December 5

The Senate continued to make progress on confirmations this week, voting to confirm eight Article III nominees: Anne Hwang (C.D. Cal.), Brian Murphy (D. Mass.), Sparkle Sooknanan (D.D.C.), Catherine Henry (E.D. Pa.), Gail Weilheimer (E.D. Pa.), Anthony Brindisi (N.D.N.Y.), Elizabeth Coombe (N.D.N.Y.) and Sarah Davenport (D.N.M.).

With these confirmations, the Biden-Harris Administration is at 229 Article III confirmations. On this date during the Trump Administration, there were 229 confirmations. The current administration is only 5 short of matching the previous administration’s four-year total.

As of December 5^th, there are 50 Article III vacancies, 35 of which are current. There are now 15 pending nominees: 8 waiting for floor votes, 3 waiting to be reported out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and 4 waiting for hearings.