Donald Trump, President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, entered office with a significant number of judicial vacancies, [1] [2] including a Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Antonin Scalia in February 2016. During the first eight months of his presidency, he nominated approximately 50 judges, a significantly higher number than any other recent president had made by that point in his presidency. [3] By June 24, 2020, 200 of his Article III nominees had been confirmed by the United States Senate. [4] According to multiple media outlets, Trump significantly impacted the composition of the Supreme Court and lower courts during his tenure. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
As of February 3,2020 [update] , the American Bar Association (ABA) had rated 220 of Trump's nominees. Of these nominees, 187 were rated "well-qualified," 67 were rated "qualified," and 10 were rated "not qualified." [10] Seven of the nine individuals rated as "not qualified" have been confirmed by the Senate. [11]
According to Vox's Ian Millhiser, "There’s no completely objective way to measure legal ability, but a common metric used by legal employers to identify the most gifted lawyers is whether those lawyers secured a federal clerkship, including the most prestigious clerkships at the Supreme Court. Approximately 40 percent of Trump’s appellate nominees clerked for a Supreme Court justice, and about 80 percent clerked on a federal court of appeals. That compares to less than a quarter of Obama’s nominees who clerked on the Supreme Court, and less than half with a federal appellate clerkship. In other words, based solely on objective legal credentials, the average Trump appointee has a far more impressive résumé than any past president’s nominees." [12] As of July 2020, the judges appointed by Trump are "85% white and 76% male; less than 5% are African-American,” as a result of which the federal judiciary has become "less diverse" compared to previous administrations, according to an analysis by The Conversation. [13]
Trump made 46 nominations for federal judgeships that were not confirmed by the Senate. Of these, 6 were withdrawn by President Trump, 32 expired at an adjournment of the Senate, and 8 were withdrawn by President Joe Biden after he took office.
Nominee | Court | Nomination date | ABA rating [Note 1] | Date of final action | Final action | Subsequent federal judicial nominations | Seat filled by | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Courts of appeals | ||||||||
Ryan Bounds | 9th Cir. | September 7, 2017 | Q | July 24, 2018 | withdrawn by Pres. Trump | Danielle J. Forrest | [14] [15] | |
Halil Suleyman Ozerden | 5th Cir. | June 24, 2019 | WQsm/Qmin | January 3, 2020 | returned to the president | Cory T. Wilson | [16] | |
Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach | 1st Cir. | November 30, 2020 | WQ | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | Gustavo Gelpí | [17] [18] | |
District courts | ||||||||
Thomas Farr | E.D.N.C. | July 13, 2017 | WQ | January 3, 2019 | returned to the president | Richard E. Myers II | [19] [20] | |
Brett Talley | M.D. Ala. | September 7, 2017 | NQ | January 3, 2018 | returned to the president | Andrew L. Brasher | [21] | |
Jeff Mateer | E.D. Tex. | September 7, 2017 | Qsm/NQmin | January 3, 2018 | returned to the president | Sean D. Jordan | [22] | |
Matthew S. Petersen | D.D.C. | September 11, 2017 | Q | January 3, 2018 | returned to the president | Carl J. Nichols | [23] | |
Gordon P. Giampietro | E.D. Wis. | December 20, 2017 | Qsm/NQmin | January 4, 2019 | returned to the president | Brett H. Ludwig | [24] | |
John M. O'Connor | E.D. Okla. N.D. Okla. W.D. Okla. | April 10, 2018 | NQ | January 3, 2019 | returned to the president | John F. Heil III | [25] | |
Jon Katchen | D. Alaska | April 12, 2018 | — | January 3, 2019 | returned to the president | Joshua Kindred | [26] | |
Thomas Marcelle | N.D.N.Y. | November 13, 2018 | WQ | September 19, 2019 | withdrawn by Pres. Trump | Anne M. Nardacci | [27] [28] | |
Jeremy B. Rosen | C.D. Cal. | November 13, 2018 | WQsm/Qmin | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Hernán D. Vera | [29] [30] [31] | |
Patrick J. Bumatay | S.D. Cal. | February 6, 2019 | Q | October 15, 2019 | withdrawn by Pres. Trump | 9th Cir. (nominated November 13, 2018, confirmed December 10, 2019) | Todd W. Robinson | [32] |
Michael S. Bogren | W.D. Mich. | March 11, 2019 | WQ | June 26, 2019 | withdrawn by Pres. Trump | Hala Y. Jarbou | [33] | |
Kevin R. Sweazea | D.N.M. | June 12, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2020 | returned to the president | Margaret Strickland | [34] | |
Barbara Bailey Jongbloed | D. Conn. | October 15, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Omar A. Williams | [35] | |
Cory T. Wilson | S.D. Miss. | October 15, 2019 | Q | May 4, 2020 | withdrawn by Pres. Trump | 5th Cir. (nominated May 4, 2020, confirmed June 24, 2020) | Taylor B. McNeel | [36] [37] |
Adam L. Braverman | S.D. Cal. | October 17, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Linda Lopez | [38] [39] | |
Sandy N. Leal | C.D. Cal. | October 17, 2019 | Qsm/WQmin | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong | [40] [41] | |
Shireen Matthews | S.D. Cal. | October 17, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Jinsook Ohta | [42] [43] | |
Rick Richmond | C.D. Cal. | October 17, 2019 | Q | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Sherilyn Peace Garnett | [44] [45] | |
Knut S. Johnson | S.D. Cal. | November 21, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Ruth Bermudez Montenegro | [46] [47] | |
Steve Kim | C.D. Cal. | November 21, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Kenly Kiya Kato | [48] [49] | |
Michelle M. Pettit | S.D. Cal. | November 21, 2019 | WQsm/Qmin | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Robert S. Huie | [50] [51] | |
Jennifer P. Togliatti | D. Nev. | November 21, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Cristina D. Silva | [52] [53] | |
Iris Lan | S.D.N.Y. | December 2, 2019 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Dale Ho | [54] [55] | |
Saritha Komatireddy | E.D.N.Y. | May 4, 2020 | WQm/Qmin | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Nusrat Jahan Choudhury | [56] | |
Jennifer H. Rearden | S.D.N.Y. | May 4, 2020 | WQsm/Qmin | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | S.D.N.Y. (nominated January 19, 2022, confirmed September 8, 2022) | Herself | [57] |
Dirk B. Paloutzian | E.D. Cal. | May 21, 2020 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Ana de Alba | [58] | |
Edmund LaCour | M.D. Ala. | June 2, 2020 | Qm/WQmin | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | TBD | [59] [60] | |
James P. Arguelles | E.D. Cal. | June 18, 2020 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Jennifer L. Thurston | [61] | |
Fred Joseph Federici III | D.N.M. | June 18, 2020 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Margaret Strickland | [62] | |
Brenda M. Saiz | D.N.M. | June 18, 2020 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Matthew L. Garcia | [63] | |
Hector Gonzalez | E.D.N.Y. | September 8, 2020 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | E.D.N.Y. (nominated December 15, 2021, confirmed March 23, 2022) | Himself | [64] |
Ryan T. McAllister | N.D.N.Y. | September 8, 2020 | Qsm/NQmin | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Anne M. Nardacci | [65] | |
David C. Woll Jr. | E.D.N.Y. | September 8, 2020 | WQ | January 3, 2021 | returned to the president | Nina Morrison | [66] | |
Court of International Trade | ||||||||
Joseph Barloon | Intl. Trade | November 16, 2020 | WQ | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | Lisa Wang | [67] [68] | |
Article I courts | ||||||||
Damien M. Schiff | Fed. Cl. | May 8, 2017 | n/a | January 3, 2018 | returned to the president | Richard Hertling | [69] | |
Maureen Ohlhausen | Fed. Cl. | January 24, 2018 | January 3, 2019 | returned to the president | Edward H. Meyers | [70] | ||
Mark V. Holmes | T.C. | April 24, 2018 | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | TBD | [71] [72] [73] [74] | ||
Daniel Z. Epstein | Fed. Cl. | June 24, 2019 | December 17, 2020 | withdrawn by Pres. Trump | Armando O. Bonilla | [75] [76] | ||
Grace Obermann | Fed. Cl. | October 30, 2019 | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | Molly Silfen | [77] [78] [79] | ||
Stephen A. Kubiatowski | Fed. Cl. | October 23, 2020 | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | Zachary Somers Carolyn N. Lerner | [80] [81] [82] | ||
Terrence M. Andrews | Fed. Cl. | December 17, 2020 | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | Armando O. Bonilla | [83] [84] | ||
Article IV courts | ||||||||
Maria Teresa B. Cenzon | D. Guam | November 30, 2020 | — | February 4, 2021 | withdrawn by Pres. Biden | TBD | [85] [86] |
Supreme Court of the United States
Richard Alan Hertling is a judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Halil Suleyman "Sul" Ozerden is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi and a former nominee to be a Circuit Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Lucy Haeran Koh is an American lawyer serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Koh previously served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California from 2010 to 2021. She also served as a California state court judge of the Santa Clara County Superior Court from 2008 to 2010. She is the first Korean American woman to serve on a federal appellate court in the United States.
U.S. President Barack Obama nominated over 400 individuals for federal judgeships during his presidency. Of these nominations, Congress confirmed 329 judgeships, 173 during the 111th & 112th Congresses and 156 during the 113th and 114th Congresses.
David Bruce Barlow is a United States district judge of the District of Utah and a former United States Attorney for the same district.
Luis Felipe Restrepo, known commonly as L. Felipe Restrepo, is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the United States Sentencing Commission.
David Charles Nye is an American lawyer and jurist who is the Chief United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho. He was a state court judge for Idaho's Sixth District Court from 2007 to 2017, and before that spent twenty years in private practice in Idaho.
Diane Gujarati is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She was nominated by both former US President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump, but she was only confirmed under Trump.
Arthur Marvin Quattlebaum Jr. is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was formerly a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.
Ryan Wesley Bounds is an American attorney serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon.
Peter Joseph Phipps is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Thomas Tullidge Cullen is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia since 2020. He served as a United States attorney for the same district from 2018 to 2020.
Raúl Manuel Arias-Marxuach is the Chief United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
David James Porter is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Andrew Lynn Brasher is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. He is a former solicitor general of Alabama.
Chad Andrew Readler is an American lawyer who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He previously served as a principal deputy and former acting assistant attorney general for the United States Department of Justice Civil Division.
Patrick Joseph Bumatay is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Daniel Paul Collins is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Cory Todd Wilson is an American attorney and jurist serving as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Wilson was previously a judge on the Mississippi Court of Appeals and a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives.
Jennifer Hutchison Rearden is an American lawyer from New York who is serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)