Federal Judges

Article III judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. About 677 serve on the district courts, 179 on the courts of appeals, nine on the Supreme Court, and nine on the Court of International Trade. Candidates are typically identified by the White House Counsel's office, often with recommendations from home-state senators for district seats, vetted by the Justice Department and FBI, and rated by the American Bar Association, though presidents of both parties have at times excluded the ABA from pre-nomination review. A President typically appoints between 150 and 250 judges over a four-year term.

Federal judges hold office during good behavior and their pay cannot be reduced, so they can be removed only by impeachment and conviction. Fifteen have been impeached in the nation's history and eight convicted and removed, nearly all for corruption or other personal misconduct rather than their rulings. A judge who meets the Rule of 80, age plus years of service totaling eighty with at least age 65, may take senior status, continuing to hear a reduced caseload at full salary while creating a vacancy for the President to fill.

Judges are bound by a code of conduct, file annual financial disclosures, and are subject to misconduct complaints decided by the judicial councils of the circuits. Because seats carry life tenure, presidents increasingly nominate younger judges, and the confirmation of judges has become one of the central measures of a President's lasting influence. Donald Trump appointed 234 Article III judges in his first term and Joe Biden 235 in his.