US Senate approved 166 Joe Biden nominations for judges

During the first 3 years of US President Joe Biden's administration, the US Senate approved 166 lifetime judges appointed by him. The Democrat has appointed 200 magistrates since taking office on January 20, 2021.

Article 3 of the US Constitution sets the standards for the appointment, tenure and compensation of judges of the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, District Courts and the Court of International Trade. These judges, known as “Article 3 judges”are appointed by the president and require Senate confirmation.

The appointment is for life and the only way to remove them from office is through an impeachment process initiated by the House of Representatives and a subsequent conviction by the Senate.

Since the beginning of his term in January 2021, President Biden has nominated 200 judges for life, with 166 of them being approved by the Senate by January 1, 2024. By comparison, former President Donald Trump has had 187 judges confirmed by the House in the 3 first years of his government.

The total number of Republican-nominated judges approved by the Senate was the highest since 1981, the year Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency.

On average, starting in 1981, U.S. presidents nominated about 154 people to federal judgeships within that period. Barack Obama had the approval of 124 of his nominees, while 169 judges appointed by George W. Bush were confirmed.

Considering the 1st and 2nd presidential term, Reagan was the president who, since 1981, had the highest number of judges approved by the Senate, totaling 383 in 8 years of government. He is followed by Bill Clinton (377), Obama (329) and Bush (326).

During the 4 years of his term, Trump won the approval of 234 judges. He is running for a second term in this year's presidential elections.

Among Biden's 166 judges confirmed by the start of his 4th year in office, the Senate approved one Supreme Court judge, 39 Court of Appeals judges and 126 District Court judges.

See the average number of judges appointed to the US Courts in 43 years:

• Supreme Court – since Reagan, on average 1 Supreme Court justice has been appointed by a president. Clinton, Obama and Trump made two each;
• Courts of Appeal – on average, presidents manage to appoint 30 judges to the Court. Biden appointments represent 21.8% of the 179 vacancies;
• District courts – presidents on average have 126 judges approved by the Senate. Biden appointments represent 18.6% of the 677 vacancies.