by Sara Reynolds
President Donald Trump has appointed and the Senate has confirmed 220 Article III federal judges through Nov. 1, 2020, his fourth year in office. This is the second-most Article III judicial appointments through this point in all presidencies since Jimmy Carter (D). The Senate had confirmed 260 of Carter’s appointees at this point in his term.
The average number of federal judges appointed by a president through Nov. 1 of their fourth year in office is 200.
The median number of Supreme Court justices appointed is two. President Trump appointed the most with three. Presidents Barack Obama (D), Bill Clinton (D), and George H.W. Bush (R) had each appointed two Supreme Court justices at this point in their first terms. Ronald Reagan (R) had appointed one, while Carter and George W. Bush (R) had not appointed any.
The median number of United States Court of Appeals appointees is 35. Carter appointed the most with 55, while Clinton and Obama both appointed the least with 30 each. Trump’s 53 appointments make up 30% of the total 179 judgeships across the courts of appeal.
The median number of United States District Court appointees is 162. Carter appointed the most with 202, and Obama appointed the fewest with 128. Trump has appointed 162 district court judges so far. Those appointments make up 24% of the 677 judgeships across the district courts.
Article III federal judges are appointed for life terms by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate per Article III of the United States Constitution. Article III judges include judges on the: Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. courts of appeal, U.S. district courts, and the Court of International Trade.
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Sara Reynolds is a reporter for Ballotpedia.
Photo “Federal Courtroom” by Rawpixel Ltd CC BY 2.0.
