The U.S. Senate confirmed four nominees to U.S. District Court judgeships. The Senate has confirmed 192 of President Trump’s Article III judicial nominees—two Supreme Court justices, 51 appellate court judges, 137 district court judges, and two U.S. Court of International Trade judges—since January 2017.
The confirmed nominees are:
- Philip Halpern, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Halpern was confirmed on a 77-19 vote. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), one of Halpern’s home-state senators, voted against his confirmation. After Halpern receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have three vacancies, 19 Democrat-appointed judges, and six Republican-appointed judges.
- John Kness, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Kness was confirmed on an 81-12 vote. After he receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have two vacancies, 13 Democrat-appointed judges, and seven Republican-appointed judges.
- Matthew Schelp, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Schelp was confirmed on a vote of 72-23. After he receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have no vacancies, five Democrat-appointed judges, and four Republican-appointed judges.
- Joshua Kindred, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. Kindred was confirmed on a 54-41 vote where Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joined 52 Republicans to confirm the nominee. After he receives his judicial commission and takes his judicial oath, the court will have no vacancies, one Democrat-appointed judge, and two Republican-appointed judges.
There are 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system.
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Additional reading:
- Judicial vacancies during Trump’s first term
- Federal judicial nominations by president
- Current federal judicial vacancies
- United States federal courts
