Judicial Vacancies During the Biden Administration

President Joe Biden (D) inherited 46 Article III lifetime federal judicial vacancies requiring a presidential nomination when he was inaugurated on January 20, 2021. Across 890 federal judicial positions, there was an average of 76 vacancies a month from January 2021 to September 2022.

This page provides an overview of recent vacancies, nominations, and confirmations; the number of vacancies by month; the number of nominations and confirmations by month; historical analysis of the state of the federal judiciary at the start of Biden’s term compared to that of his six immediate predecessors; and an analysis of possible judicial openings during Biden’s term of office.