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Biden, former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, begins his presidency with 68 vacancies on the bench – seven vacancies in the court of appeal and 61 in the district court. That number of vacancies is lower than what former President Donald Trump inherited when he entered the White House. Trump had an open Supreme Court seat, 86 district court seats and 17 circuit court seats to fill.
After Senate Republicans confirmed more than 200 judges during Trump’s presidency – a confirmation heavyweight that GOP leaders were proud of – Democrats and progressive groups vow to exert their own influence on the federal bench.
According to a source, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was already on the list of potential DC Circuit Appeals Court nominees as Biden’s potential Supreme Court candidate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson is currently a Federal District Judge in the District of Columbia.
Biden’s long-awaited announcement of 11 picks comes as Democrats grow convinced former President Barack Obama was too slow to go to court. Obama announced his first legal choice on March 17, 2009, followed by two more choices on April 2 of the same year.
Trump faced a relatively unusual situation when he took office: a vacant Supreme Court seat opened by Senate Republicans who refused to follow through on Obama’s appointment of Judge Merrick Garland to replace the late judge Antonin Scalia.
Trump appealed to Judge Neil Gorsuch for this niche on February 1, 2017. Trump’s first choice for a lower court came for an appeals court on March 21.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
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