During Senate debates over judicial nominations, differing perspectives have been expressed about the relative degree of success of a President's nominees in gaining Senate confirmation, compared with the nominees of other recent Presidents. In light of continued Senate interest in the judicial selection and confirmation process, this report seeks to inform Congress by (1) comparing the number and percentage of judicial nominees confirmed during the first five and a half years of the Obama presidency with the number and percentage of nominees confirmed during the same period of time during the G.W. Bush and Clinton presidencies; (2) comparing the pace of judicial confirmations during the Obama presidency as well as during the G.W. Please note that the purpose of this midyear report is to provide an overview and analysis of the number and percentage of U.S. circuit and district court nominees confirmed as of June 30 of President Obama's sixth year in office (and how such statistics compare to the number and percentage of nominees confirmed during the G.W. Bush, and Clinton, the total number of U.S. circuit and district court nominees submitted to the Senate from January 20 of a President's first year in office to June 30 of his sixth year in office, as well as the number and percentage of circuit and district court nominees whose nominations were confirmed by the Senate during this same period. U.S. District Court Nominees

 Table 1 shows that, as of June 30 of his sixth year in office, President Obama had nominated the second greatest number of individuals to U.S. district court judgeships and also had the second greatest number and percentage of his U.S. district court nominees confirmed by the Senate. Of 253 nominees, 219 (86.6%) have, thus far, been confirmed. Bush had 18 nominees confirmed, and President Clinton had 24 nominees confirmed. Circuit and District Court Nominees (Combined)

Overall, combining the data in Table 1 for U.S. circuit and district court nominees, President Obama has had, as of June 30 of his sixth year in office, approximately the same percentage of nominees confirmed as President G.W. Bush (85.9% and 86.0%, respectively) and the greatest number of total nominees confirmed (268). President Clinton had the second-greatest number of nominees confirmed (266) during the same period of his presidency, while President G.W. Bush had the fewest number of nominees confirmed (246). Bush presidency is 22 and 20 fewer than the total number of nominees confirmed, respectively, during the comparable periods of time of the Obama and Clinton presidencies. As shown by Figure 1 , when considering just a President's first term, President Obama had 3.7 circuit court nominees confirmed, on average, every six months (compared to 4.4 nominees confirmed, on average, every six months during President G.W. Finally, Table 1 shows that, from January 20 of President Obama's first year in office to June 30 of his sixth year in office, the Senate confirmed, on average, 4.5 circuit court nominees every six months. Bush and Clinton are 4.2 and 4.0, respectively. As with the confirmation of circuit court nominees during President Obama's second term, this is the greatest number of district court judges approved by the Senate, on average, for any six-month period during any of the three Presidents' first or second terms. The number of district court nominees confirmed, on average, per six-month period during President G.W. Bush's second term, 14.3 circuit and district court nominees were confirmed, on average, every six months (the lowest number per six-month period for any of the three Presidents). Overall, from January 20 of his first year to June 30 of his sixth year, President Obama had 24.4 circuit and district court nominees confirmed, on average, per six-month period. The comparable statistics for Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton were 22.4 and 24.2, respectively. Bush, and Clinton, (1) the percentage of U.S. circuit and district court judgeships vacant on January 1 of a President's fifth year in office; (2) the percentage of such judgeships vacant on June 30 of a President's sixth year in office; and (3) the change in the percentage of vacant U.S. circuit and district court judgeships from January 1 of a President's fifth year to June 30 of his sixth year. The percentage of vacant circuit court judgeships increased from January 1 of President G.W.
The nomination and confirmation process for U.S. circuit and district court judges is of ongoing interest to Congress. Recent Senate debates over judicial nominations have focused on issues such as the relative degree of success of President Barack Obama's nominees in gaining Senate confirmation compared with other recent Presidents, as well as the pace of confirmation of his nominees compared to the nominees of other recent Presidents, and the relative prevalence of vacant judgeships compared to years past.
This report addresses these issues by providing a statistical analysis of nominations to U.S. circuit and district court judgeships from January 20 of President Obama's first year in office to June 30 of his sixth year, and by comparing statistics during this period of the Obama presidency to statistics from comparable periods of time during the presidencies of his two most recent predecessors. Some of the report's findings include the following:
Of President Obama's 59 circuit court nominees, 49 (83.1%) have, thus far, been confirmed. The 49 confirmed nominees and 83.1% confirmation rate represent the highest number and percentage of circuit court nominees confirmed, during the three most recent presidencies, from January 20 of a President's first year in office to June 30 of his sixth year. G.W. Bush had the lowest percentage of circuit court nominees confirmed (68.7%) during the comparable period of time of his presidency, while President Clinton had the lowest number confirmed (44). Of the 253 persons nominated by President Obama to U.S. district court judgeships, 219 (86.6%) have been confirmed. Of the three Presidents, this was both the second-highest number and percentage of district court nominees confirmed. Of the comparison group, President Clinton had the greatest number of district court nominees confirmed between January 20 of his first year and June 30 of his sixth year (222), while President G.W. Bush had the greatest percentage of district court nominees confirmed (91.3%). Overall, combining nominees to both circuit and district court judgeships, President Obama has had, as of June 30 of his sixth year in office, approximately the same percentage of nominees confirmed as President G.W. Bush (85.9% and 86.0%, respectively). President Obama, however, has had the greatest number of nominees confirmed (268), while President G.W. Bush had the fewest number of nominees confirmed (246). President Clinton had the second-highest number of nominees confirmed (266) and the lowest percentage confirmed (81.1%). During the Obama presidency the Senate has confirmed, on average, 4.5 circuit court nominees every six months. Of the comparison group, this is the highest number of circuit court nominees confirmed, on average, every six months. For Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton, the number of circuit court nominees confirmed, on average, per six-month period was 4.2 and 4.0, respectively. During the Obama presidency, as of June 30, 2014, the Senate has confirmed, on average, 19.9 district court nominees every six months. Of the comparison group, this is the second-highest number of district court nominees confirmed, on average, every six months. For Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton, the number of district court nominees confirmed, on average, per six-month period was 18.2 and 20.2, respectively. Overall, from January 20 of his first year to June 30 of his sixth year, President Obama had 24.4 circuit and district court nominees confirmed, on average, per six-month period. This was the highest number of nominees confirmed, on average, per six-month period during the three presidencies. The comparable statistics for Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton were 22.4 and 24.2, respectively. The percentage of vacant circuit and district court judgeships declined from January 1 of President Obama's fifth year in office to June 30 of his sixth year. The percentage of vacant judgeships also declined over the same period during the Clinton presidency, while the percentage of vacancies increased during the same period of the G.W. Bush presidency.