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August 2018

Executive Summary

This report analyzes the quality and diversity of federal judicial nominees under President Donald
Trump, contrasting his selections with previous administrations both Democratic and Republican.
Since President Trump took office in 2017 there has been a dramatic increase in the number of
judicial nominations made as well as the pace of the confirmation process. This stands in stark
contrast to the previous administration where obstruction by the U.S. Senate slowed the process to
a crawl.

The Trump administration has said that instead of focusing on diversity when nominating
candidates for federal judgeships, they will prioritize “qualifications.” Yet, in December one
nominee was withdrawn after being unable to answer basic questions about the courtroom process
and federal trial rules during his confirmation hearing. Additionally, four of Trump’s nominees
have been rated as “Not Qualified” by the American Bar Association (ABA), an unprecedented
number so soon in a president’s term when compared to the past four presidents. At this point in
his first congress, President Trump has put forth a lower percentage of “Well Qualified” nominees,
as rated by the ABA, than each of his four predecessors.

In addition to analyzing the quality of President Trump’s judicial nominees, this report analyzes
the diversity of nominees in terms of race and gender. Diversity is important at every level of the
judiciary but especially in the lower courts that have the final word on thousands of cases spanning
hundreds of issues.

Key Findings

• As of July 1, 2018, President Trump has nominated 140 individuals to serve as judges on
the federal courts in 141 different positions. One individual was nominated for two
different posts.

• With six months remaining in his first two years in office, President Trump has already
nominated more federal judicial nominees than three of his four predecessors did in their
entire first two years.

• The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary has rated
more of President Trump’s judicial nominees as “Not Qualified” than they have for his last
four predecessors. The number could increase as his first Congress concludes.

• Most of President Trump’s nominees for federal judgeships have been white (91%)
compared to 57% of President Obama’s nominees and 80% of President George W. Bush’s
nominees who were white.

• Only 1% of President Trump’s nominees for federal judgeships have been African
American and only 4% have been Hispanic.

• President Trump’s nominees for federal judges have been 77% male. In contrast, President
Obama’s nominees were 55% male and President George W. Bush’s nominees were 80%
male.

• President Trump has nominated eight judges for positions in Florida. Five of them are
white, two Hispanic and one African American. Of the Florida nominations, seven are
male, and one is female. None of them has been confirmed yet by the U.S. Senate.