Correcting the Record on Judicial Nominees

President Obama and his political allies are again falsely charging obstructionism on the confirmation of judicial nominations. Some have gone so far as to suggest the purported stall in confirmation rates warrants changes to long standing Senate rules. The facts simply do not support the allegations.

The Senate is Confirming Judges at a Fair Pace

The Senate is treating President Obama’s judicial nominees better in his second term than previous Presidents’ nominees have been treated in their second terms.

• The Senate has confirmed 10 judges so far this Congress – four to courts of appeals and six to district courts.
• By comparison, at this same point in the second term of President Bush the Senate had not confirmed a single judge.

The 10 judges confirmed this Congress come on the heels of a productive 112^th Congress.

• During the 112^th Congress, the Senate confirmed 171 of President Obama’s judicial nominees. The most in 20 years.
• The Senate has defeated only two of President Obama’s nominees.  

Judicial Vacancies Are Due to Democrats’ Inaction

The President has only himself to blame for the current number of judicial vacancies. Most of the vacancies in the federal judiciary are due to the Administration’s continued failure to nominate qualified individuals.

• There are currently 86 judicial vacancies, meaning 90 percent of federal judicial seats are filled.
• For those 86 vacancies, the Administration has made only 24 nominations; leaving 62 vacancies with no action yet from the President.
• And for the nominations that have been received, the Senate Judiciary Committee has yet to act on close to half of them.