Biden Administration Faces 48 Federal Judicial Vacancies, Three Nominations Announced‌ ‌

In this month’s federal judicial vacancy count, Ballotpedia tracked nominations, confirmations, and vacancies from August 2, 2024, to September 1, 2024. Ballotpedia publishes the federal judicial vacancy count at the start of each month.

There have been two new judicial vacancies since the report was published on August 1, 2024. Out of 870 active Article III judicial positions in the covered courts, 48 vacancies exist. This number rises to 48 out of 890 when including the United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States territorial courts. Additionally, there have been three new nominations since the previous report, but no new confirmations.

There were 48 vacancies out of 870 active Article III judicial positions, resulting in a total vacancy percentage of 5.5%, which is the same as the vacancy percentage reported in August 2024. Out of the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court, there are currently no vacancies. Additionally, one (0.6%) of the 179 U.S. Appeals Court positions and 47 (6.9%) of the 677 U.S. District Court positions are vacant. There are no vacancies among the nine U.S. Court of International Trade positions.

A vacancy occurs when a judge resigns, retires, takes senior status, or passes away. Article III judges, who serve on courts authorized by Article III of the Constitution, are appointed for life terms.

Two judges have recently left their active positions, creating life-term judicial vacancies in the Article III courts. Judge Glenn Suddaby has assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, while Judge Geoffrey Crawford has assumed senior status on the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont. As per Article III, these vacancies must be filled by a nomination from the president, and the nominations are subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.

The following map shows the number of vacancies in the United States District Courts as of September 1, 2024.

The following chart shows the number of federal judicial vacancies each month during President Joe Biden’s (D) administration from January 20, 2021, to September 1, 2024.

President Biden has recently announced three new nominations for federal judgeships. Elizabeth Coombe has been nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Sarah Davenport to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, and Sharad Desai to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. Since taking office in January 2021, President Biden has nominated a total of 251 individuals to Article III positions.

There have been no new confirmations since the previous report. As of September 1, 2024, the Senate has confirmed 205 of Biden’s judicial nominees—159 district court judges, 43 appeals court judges, two Court of International Trade judges, and one Supreme Court justice—since January 2021.

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