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" were 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 Of these, 6 were withdrawn by President Trump, 32 expired at an adjournment of the Senate, and 8 were withdrawn by President Joe Biden after he took office.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 | Kashi Way | [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
Halil Suleyman "Sul" Ozerden is the chief 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.
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