U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations Submitted During the First Six Months of a New Presidency
INSIGHTi
U.S. Circuit and District Court Nominations
Submitted During the First Six Months of a
New Presidency
March 4, 2021
This Insight provides, from the Clinton presidency to the Trump presidency, comparative historical data
related to U.S. circuit and district court nominations that were made during the first six months of a
President’s first year in office (i.e., from January 20 through July 20).
Because the first six months of President Biden’s time in office have yet to conclude, they are not
included in the figures below. Information related to the Biden presidency to date is, however, provided in
the text.
Nomination Opportunities
Each of the Presidents included in the analysis “inherited” U.S. circuit and district vacancies that existed
prior to his assuming office on January 20. Such vacancies also continued to occur after his term in office
began. Consequently, each President had opportunities to submit judicial nominations to the Senate
during the first six months of his presidency.
Of the four presidencies included in the figures below, the number of U.S. circuit court vacancies that
existed on March 1 during the first six months of each presidency ranged from a low of 15 for the Obama
presidency to a high of 29 for the George W. Bush presidency. There were 19 and 18 such vacancies,
respectively, on March 1 during the first six months of the Trump and Clinton presidencies.
For the Biden presidency, there were four vacant U.S. circuit court judgeships on March 1, 2021.
Of the four presidencies included in the figures below, the number of U.S. district court vacancies that
existed on March 1 during the first six months of each presidency ranged from a low of 50 for the Obama
presidency to a high of 95 for the Clinton presidency. There were 93 and 65 such vacancies, respectively,
on March 1 during each of the first six months of the Trump and George W. Bush presidencies.
For the Biden presidency, there were 59 vacant U.S. district court judgeships on March 1, 2021.
At least a couple of months typical y have passed between the start of a new presidency and when a
President submits his first judicial nominations to the Senate. A President often works with home state
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Senators to identify potential nominees (particularly for U.S. district court vacancies) and, as discussed
previously by CRS, potential nominees undergo a prenomination evaluation process. In recent
presidential administrations, the task of evaluating the background and qualifications of potential judicial
nominees has involved staff with the White House Counsel’s Office and the Department of Justice. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also assists in providing background investigations of judicial
candidates.
U.S. Circuit Court Nominations
Of the four presidencies included in Figure 1, the earliest circuit court nomination was submitted during
the Obama presidency (on March 17, 2009). President Trump also submitted his first nomination in
March (on the 21st). Of the four presidencies, these were the only two instances of a President’s first U.S.
circuit or district court nominations being submitted during his first 100 days in office.
President George W. Bush submitted his first 11 circuit court nominations on May 9, 2001, and an
additional 5 nominations later in May during that same year. President Clinton did not submit a circuit
court nomination during his first six months in office (he first submitted circuit court nominations in
August).
As of March 1, 2021, President Biden has not submitted a circuit court nomination to the Senate.
Figure 1. U.S. Circuit Court Nominations Submitted During the First Six Months of a New
Presidency (January 20 through July 20)
Source: Congressional Research Service.
Of the four Presidents included in Figure 1, President George W. Bush submitted the greatest number of
circuit court nominations (20 total) during his first six months in office and President Clinton submitted
the fewest (none). President Trump submitted nine such nominations and President Obama submitted
five.
While not reflected in Figure 1, two of the four Presidents had at least one circuit court nomination
confirmed by the Senate during the first six months of their presidencies—President George W. Bush had
one confirmed (on July 20, 2001) and President Trump had two confirmed (on May 25, 2017, and July
20, 2017). During the Obama and Clinton presidencies, the first circuit court nomination was confirmed
in September of each President’s first year in office.
U.S. District Court Nominations
Of the four Presidents included in Figure 2, the earliest district court nomination was submitted during
the Trump presidency (two were submitted on May 8, 2017). President George W. Bush also submitted
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two district court nominations in May of his first year (on the 17th). President Obama submitted two
nominations on June 25, 2009. President Clinton did not submit a district court nomination during his first
six months in office (he first submitted district court nominations in August).
As of March 1, 2021, President Biden has not submitted a district court nomination to the Senate.
Of the four presidencies included in Figure 2, President Trump submitted the greatest number of district
court nominations (17 total) during his first six months in office and President Clinton submitted the
fewest (none). President George W. Bush submitted nine such nominations and President Obama
submitted four.
While not reflected in Figure 2, two of the four Presidents had district court nominations confirmed by
the Senate during the first six months of their presidencies—President George W. Bush had two
confirmed (both on July 20, 2001) and President Trump had one confirmed (on July 12, 2017). During the
Obama and Clinton presidencies, the first district court nomination was confirmed in September of each
President’s first year in office.
Figure 2. U.S. District Court Nominations Submitted During the First Six Months of a New
Presidency (January 20 through July 20)
Source: Congressional Research Service.
Author Information
Barry J. McMillion
Analyst in American National Government
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
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States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However,
as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
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