Next week Congress returns from its recess and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell intends to hold cloture and confirmation votes for five additional judicial nominees, including Elizabeth Branch, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Meanwhile, the number of vacancies continues to creep up, reaching a total of 181 vacancies today (147 current vacancies and 34 known future vacancies).
Here is this week’s full update on federal judicial nominations.
Current and known future vacancies: 181
Courts of Appeals: 26
District/Specialty Courts*: 155
Pending nominees for current and known future vacancies: 62
Courts of Appeals: 11
District/Specialty Courts: 51
* Includes the Court of Federal Claims and the International Trade Court
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Both Blue Slips Returned? | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| Ryan Bounds (9th) | 9/7/2017 | 169 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| John Nalbandian (6th) | 1/24/2018 | 30 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Andrew Oldham (5th) | 2/15/2018 | 8 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Michael Scudder (7th) | 2/15/2018 | 8 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Amy St. Eve (7th) | 2/15/2018 | 8 | No | Not yet scheduled |
| Mark Bennett (9th) | 2/15/2018 | 8 | No | Not yet scheduled |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Judiciary Committee Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Judiciary Committee Hearing Date |
| Joel Carson (10th) | 12/20/2017 | 65 | 2/14/2018 |
Court of Appeals Nominees Awaiting Senate Floor Votes
| Nominee (Circuit) | Nomination Date | Days Pending | Date Reported out of Senate Judiciary Committee |
| Elizabeth Branch (11th) | 9/7/2017 | 169 | 1/18/2018 |
| Kyle Duncan (5th) | 10/2/2017 | 144 | 1/18/2018 |
| Kurt Engelhardt (5th) | 10/5/2017 | 141 | 2/8/2018 |
| Michael Brennan (7th) | 8/3/2017 | 204 | 2/15/2018 |
Nominees Awaiting Floor Votes: 33
Courts of Appeals: 4
District/Specialty Courts: 29
Nominees Confirmed by the Senate: 24
Supreme Court: 1
Courts of Appeals: 13
District/Specialty Courts: 10