Judicial Bench Index

Federal vacancy, nomination, and confirmation signals shaping the U.S. judicial bench, tracked as institutional pressure, not political theater.

How this works: This index reflects confirmed institutional activity and structural pressure, including federal vacancy counts and nomination actions. “Judicial Pressure,” “Backlog,” and “Pace” are modeled signals for analysis and do not predict votes, outcomes, or rulings.

Congress: 119.

Watch Last updated: 2026-07-07T14:42:10-04:00

Judicial Pressure Signal

Trend: Moving

Seats Filled

2026-06-24 Michael J. Hendershot, of Ohio, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Ohio, vice Patricia A. Gaughan, retired.

2026-06-24 John George Edward Marck, of Texas, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, vice Micaela Alvarez, retired.

2026-06-15 Justin D. Smith, of Missouri, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eighth Circuit, vice William Duane Benton, retiring.

2026-06-10 Anthony J. Powell, of Kansas, to be United States District Judge for the District of Kansas, vice Julie A. Robinson, retired.

2026-06-09 Anthony W. Mattivi, of Kansas, to be United States District Judge for the District of Kansas, vice Daniel D. Crabtree, retired.

2026-06-02 Jeffrey M. Kuhlman, of Kansas, to be United States District Judge for the District of Kansas, vice Eric F. Melgren, retired.

2026-06-02 Kathleen S. Lane, of Montana, to be United States District Judge for the District of Montana, vice Susan P. Watters, retiring.

Bench Heat Map

Modeled from active nomination pipeline (no external links).

Other

High

100

Active: 9 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 88d

Southern District of Florida

Elevated

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 1 • Avg: 84d

Southern District of Texas

Elevated

Active: 2 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 70d

Circuit 6

Elevated

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 1 • Avg: 71d

Circuit 2

Watch

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 71d

Circuit 10

Watch

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 56d

Circuit 8

Watch

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 56d

Northern District of Texas

Watch

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 56d

Eastern District of Pennsylvania

Watch

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 56d

Eastern District of Michigan

Watch

Active: 1 • Vote-ready: 0 • Avg: 56d

Judicial Pressure Elevated

Vacancy Pressure Low

Senate Backlog Elevated

Active Judicial Vacancies

Nominees Awaiting Vote

Avg Days Pending

Confirmation Pace (90D)

Recent Confirmations (30D): 52 Backlog Pressure: 100% Pipeline Trend: Moving

Key Nomination Events

Confirmed nominations detected in the last 30 days.

Activity Summary

Stage distribution (MVP inference)

Received 2

Referred 95

Hearing 55

Reported 0

Floor 25

Confirmed 70

Withdrawn 3

Disclaimer: This tracker is an independent editorial analysis by The Political Rift based on publicly available government data and institutional reporting, including Congress.gov nomination activity and federal judiciary vacancy reporting. It is provided for informational context only and does not constitute legal findings, official Senate outcomes, or adjudicative predictions.