2025 in Review:
Circuit judges: Trump filled 6 circuit court seats in 2025. Three of the 6 replaced D appointees. There are no more nominees who were not confirmed yet. There is one more vacancy without a nominee. There are 24 more R-appointed circuit court judges who are eligible for senior status but have not yet taken it.
One nominee is in a red state (TN), one in a purple state (WI), and four in blue states (NJ, DE, ME, CA). None had support from home state D senators. Three of 6 are women and one is Asian. This compares to President Trump’s appointment of 12 Circuit judges in 2017 and President Biden's appointment of 11 Circuit judges in 2021.
The most votes for a circuit judge was 52 for three nominees, and the smallest margin was 1 for Emil Bove. Trump's biggest impact is on the 3rd Circuit, where he has appointed two judges.
District Judges: Trump appointed 20 district judges in 2025. This compares to President Trump’s appointment of 6 District judges in 2017 and President Biden's appointment of 29 District judges in 2021. There are 8 more nominees who were not confirmed yet. There are 41 more vacancies without nominees.
No district judges were confirmed by voice vote. The most votes was 66 for Harold Mooty, and the smallest margin was 2 for Zack Bluestone. No appointees are in blue or purple states.
Other summaries of judicial and non-judicial nominations come from Bloomberg Law, Ed Whelan, and Thomas Jipping.
Nominations, Hearings, Confirmations:
Announcements: President Trump has stopped announcing judicial nominees via press release. Instead, recent nominees have been announced on Truth Social, often weeks after their paperwork has been sent to the Senate. The nominees have been leaked by senate Ds to the liberal group Alliance for Justice, which first publicized several recent nominees.
Unretirements: A misconduct claim against judges James Wynn Jr. (4th Circuit), Max Cogburn (WD-NC) and Algenon Marbley (SD-OH) was dismissed by Debra Ann Livingston (2nd Circuit). They revoked previous announced retirements after President Trump was elected in 2024.
Vacancies: Ed Whelan notes that there are 25 current and future district court vacancies in red states with no nominees. Many of them have been vacant for years.
ND-MS: Nominees James Maxwell and Robert Chamberlin had their nominations held up by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) due to his desire to get Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) to support recognition for the Lumbee tribe. The dispute was resolved and the nominees were confirmed by the Senate in 51-46 votes.
SD-IN: Nominee Justin Olson was aggressively questioned about his religious beliefs related to sex and marriage by Senator John Kennedy (R-LA).
Nominations:
Supreme Court: Carrie Severino summarizes five significant Supreme Court decisions in 2025.
Conflict: 2025 saw greater conflict within the judiciary, including between the Supreme Court and district court judges.
Retirement: Mike Fragoso makes a plea for conservative judges to take senior status by May 1. He estimates that this is the latest that a judge can take senior status and be confirmed before the 2026 midterms.
2nd Circuit: The Legal Accountability Project filed a complaint against Judge Sarah Merriam (2nd Circuit) for mistreatment of clerks, including "yelling, berating clerks, sending all-caps unhinged emails".
9th Circuit: Judge Sandra Ikuta died on December 7. She was appointed by W in 2007 and took senior status on November 7, 2025. She recently received praise from her former clerk Benjamin Flowers and Eric Tung, who succeeded her on the 9th Circuit.
WD-MO: Douglas Harpool (Obama) TBD (senior)
WD-AK: Susan Hickey (Obama) TBD (senior)
Alabama: Governor Kay Ivey appointed Will Parker to the Alabama Supreme Court. Parker clerked for Ed Carnes (11th Circuit), served as an assistant attorney general, and has been general counsel to Ivey since 2019. Parker replaces Bill Lewis, who was appointed to MD-AL by President Trump.
Colorado: Justice Melissa Hart will resign on January 5, 2026. She was appointed by John Hickenlooper (D) in 2017. Governor Jared Polis (D) will get his second appointment to the court.
Florida: Florida Supreme Court justice Charles Canady (R) will resign to take an academic position. He was a member of the US House of Representatives (1992-2000) and was appointed by Charlie Crist in 2008. There were 10 applicants and 6 finalists for the position. They are Roger Gannam, John Guard, Robert Long, Joshua Mize, Samuel Salario, and Adam Tanenbaum. Five are district court of appeals judges. John Guard has been nominated to a seat on MD-FL; his nomination is currently stalled.
Maryland: Justice Peter Killough's house featured a Halloween display with many leftist political messages. A spokesman blamed the display on his wife. Killough was appointed by Wes Moore (D) in 2024.
Kansas: Chief Justice Marla Luckert will step down as chief on January 2 and retire sometime later. Luckert suffered a stroke in October. She is a liberal appointed by Bill Graves (R) in 2003. Governor Laura Kelly (D) will appoint a replacement.
Mississippi: Judge Sharion Aycock (ND-MS) ordered the Mississippi state legislature to redraw the map for state supreme court districts, claiming it discriminates against black voters. The ruling may be appealed, and it could be changed depending on the upcoming US Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. Meanwhile, there are two vacancies on the Mississippi Supreme Court due to the confirmation of James Maxwell and Robert Chamberlin to ND-MS.
North Dakota: North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Daniel Crothers will retire on February 28. He was appointed by John Hoeven in 2005. Governor Kelly Armstrong (R) will appoint a replacement.
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty and David Wecht (all D) won retention with 61-62%. The court will remain 5D, 2R.
South Carolina: Justice John Few, former Speaker Jay Lucas, and two other candidates appeared before a state legislative panel to make their case for appointment to the SC Supreme Court. Few defended his ruling against a ban on abortion before upholding a revised version of the law. Lucas claimed that state law would not require him to retire at age 72 provided he does not accept a judicial retirement package. The Attorney General's office disputes this interpretation.
South Dakota: Governor Larry Rhoden appointed Robert Gusinsky to the South Dakota Supreme Court. He worked in the US Attorney's office before Governor Dennis Daugaard appointed him to the Seventh Circuit. He replaces Justice Janine Kern, who retired on December 8.
Tennessee: The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments selected three finalists for an upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Supreme Court. They are appeals court judges Kyle Hixson and J. Ross Dyer and attorney Shea Sisk Wellford. Governor Bill Lee (R) will select a replacement for Justice Holly Kirby, who will retire on June 30, 2026.
Virginia: Chief Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn will retire on January 1. He was elected to the court in 2007 and was elected chief in 2022. The state legislature elected Junius P. Fulton III as his replacement. Fulton has served on the Virginia Court of Appeals since 2021.
Washington: Governor Bob Ferguson (D) appointed Colleen Melody to the Washington Supreme Court. She worked for the DOJ and later for Ferguson running the civil rights division. She replaces Mary Yu, who will retire on December 31.
West Virginia: Governor Patrick Morrisey (R) appointed Gerald Titus III to the West Virginia Supreme Court. He was an AUSA (SD-WV) and recently worked in private practice. He was one of 12 applicants and 4 finalists for the seat. Titus intend to run for election in May 2026.
Here are the numbers of senior status declarations/retirements for federal judges (circuit judges) for the past year.
4 (0) July/August
5 (1) September/October
4 (0) November/December
29 (3) Total (2025)
On Ed Whelan's Substack, "Confirmation Tales", recent posts deal with George W. Bush's nominations of lower court judges.
Maryland Senators Keep Fourth Circuit Seat Open For Eight Years
George W. Bush's Dismal Failure on Fourth Circuit Nominations
Judicial Selection in the Reagan Administration
Reagan's DOJ Prepares for Another Supreme Court Vacancy
Resources:
Wikipedia: US Appeals Courts Trump Judges Biden Judges
Senior Status Spreadsheet
Future Judicial Vacancies
BostonPatriot diaries: History Trump DC-5 6-11 9th Candidates
Ballotpedia: State Supreme Court Vacancies 2025 Elections 2025
2020: March April May June July August September October Elections November December
