U.S. Federal Courts Judicial vacancies during the Trump administration

Judicial vacancies in federal courts •Judicial vacancies during the Trump administration •Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump •Federal judicial appointments by president

ABA ratings of presidential federal judicial nominees •ABA ratings during the Trump administration •ABA ratings during the Biden administration

Abraham Lincoln, President from 1861-1865

Abraham Lincoln was president of the United States from 1861 to 1865. During his time in office he had 36 judges successfully nominated and confirmed to the federal bench. Lincoln also had 2 nominees decline their nomination, one withdrawn and four rejected or not voted on by theSenate.^[1][2]

List of judges

Historical context

Appointments by current president

See also:Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

Since taking office for his second term, President Donald Trump (R) has nominated39 individuals to federal judgeships onArticle III courts. As of February 5, 2026, 33 of the nominees wereconfirmed.

During his first term in office, PresidentDonald Trump (R) nominated 274 individuals to federal judgeships. Trump made245 judicial appointments.^[3] Of those appointments,234 were Article III judges.^[4] Trump withdrew eight nominees and 143 received no vote from theSenate.^[5]

Ballotpedia publishes the federal vacancy count report tracking vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all United StatesArticle III federal courts each month. In the most recent report covering activity in February 2026, there were 41 Article III vacancies in the federal judiciary. To learn more about current vacancies in the federal judiciary,click here.The following chart from the monthly federal vacancy count report forJanuary 1, 2025, details the number of appointments made by President Trump to each type of Article III federal court since taking office. This chart is updated at the start of each month with new appointments data.

Appointments since Theodore Roosevelt

See also:Federal judicial appointments by president

The following chart shows the total judgeship appointments made by each president from 1901 to 2024.

The following chart shows the judgeship appointments by court made by each president from 1901 to 2024. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is abbreviated as USCAFC. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims, previously known as the U.S. Court of Claims, is abbreviated USCFC.

The following chart shows the average number of judicial appointments per year in office by presidents from 1901 to 2024.

The chart below shows the number of appeals court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through February 1 of the second year of each president's second term in office. At this point in the term, President Obama had the most appeals court appointments with 12.

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through February 1 of the second year of presidents' second term in office. At this point in the term, President Obama had the most district court appointments with 32.

See also

• Federal judicial appointments by president
• Current federal judicial vacancies
• Judicial vacancies in federal courts
• Abraham Lincoln

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• United States Courts
• Biographical Directory of Article III Federal Judges, 1789-present from theFederal Judicial Center

Footnotes

v • e Federal judges nominated byAbraham Lincoln
1861	Casey •Haight •Jackson •Lane •Williams
1862	Ballard •Davis •Fraser •Miller •Smith •Swayne •Trigg
1863	Cartter •Field •Field •Fisher •Olin • Peck •Wilmot • Withey
1864	Boynton •Busteed •Caldwell •Chase •Delahay •Durell •McDonald •Underwood •White •Wylie
1865	Baldwin •Benedict •Bullock •Krekel •Lowell •Nott

v • e Federal judges as nominated byU.S. presidents Federal judicial appointments by president •Washington •Adams •Jefferson •Madison •Monroe •Quincy Adams •Jackson •Van Buren •Harrison •Tyler •Polk •Taylor •Fillmore •Pierce •Buchanan •Lincoln •A. Johnson •Grant •Hayes •Garfield •Arthur •Cleveland •Harrison •McKinley •T. Roosevelt •Taft •Wilson •Harding •Coolidge •Hoover •F. Roosevelt •Truman •Eisenhower •Kennedy •L. Johnson •Nixon •Ford •Carter •Reagan •H.W. Bush •Clinton •W. Bush •Obama •Trump •Biden •Trump