Courts of Appeals Confirmations, by President: What the Latest Second Circuit Vote Adds to the Ledger

What happened this week

On July 14, 2026, the Senate confirmed Matthew Schwartz to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 50 to 45, along party lines (U.S. Senate, Roll Call Vote 119-2-194, July 14, 2026; Law360, July 14, 2026). Schwartz is a partner at Sullivan and Cromwell and one of President Trump's former personal attorneys, the third of the president's personal lawyers to be confirmed to the federal bench (Law.com, July 14, 2026; Yahoo News, July 14, 2026). The Second Circuit covers New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, and its rulings bind the federal district courts across those states until the Supreme Court says otherwise.

A single circuit confirmation rarely leads a newscast. It matters because of what it joins: a lifetime appointment to one of the 13 regional appeals courts, the courts that issue the last word on the overwhelming majority of federal cases. The Supreme Court hears only a small fraction of the appeals brought to it each term, which leaves the courts of appeals as the final decision for nearly everyone else (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). That is why every administration counts these seats, and why the count is worth reading in full.

The running total for the current president

Through July 14, 2026, the Senate has confirmed 281 Article III judges nominated by Trump across his two terms: 3 Supreme Court justices, 62 courts of appeals judges, 213 district judges, and 3 judges on the Court of International Trade (Ballotpedia, Article III federal judicial nominations, July 2026). His first term accounted for 234 of those confirmations, including all 3 Supreme Court seats and 54 circuit judges (Ballotpedia, List of federal judges appointed by Donald Trump, 2026). The arithmetic on the rest is straightforward: since returning to office he has added 47 more Article III judges, 8 of them to the courts of appeals, and Schwartz is one of that group.

For comparison, President Biden confirmed 235 Article III judges in a single term, 44 of them to the courts of appeals (Ballotpedia, Federal judges nominated by Joe Biden, 2026). President Obama confirmed 329 across two terms, including 2 Supreme Court justices and 55 circuit judges (Wikipedia, List of presidents of the United States by judicial appointments, 2026). Single terms and two term totals are not the same measure, and the honest way to read them is side by side with the length of service in mind.

The circuit bench, president by president

Narrow the lens to the courts of appeals, the seats like Schwartz's, and the modern record lines up cleanly. Ronald Reagan confirmed 78 circuit judges across two terms, the most of the modern era. Bill Clinton confirmed 62 and George W. Bush 61, each over two terms. Barack Obama confirmed 55, Trump 54 in his first term alone, and Biden 44 in one term (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Judgeship Appointments by President; Ballotpedia, 2026).

Two facts stand out from that column. First, Trump's first term nearly matched two term presidents on circuit seats, a pace driven by a large number of vacancies and a Senate that moved quickly to fill them. Second, the numbers are close enough that pace and opportunity, not just years in office, decide who ends the era with the larger mark. Reagan and Clinton still hold the all time totals for all Article III judges, 383 and 378, because they served eight years each with many seats to fill (Wikipedia, List of presidents of the United States by judicial appointments, 2026).

Why the appeals courts carry the weight

The reason these confirmations matter more than their quiet news coverage suggests is structural. There are 179 authorized judgeships on the courts of appeals and 9 on the Supreme Court (Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts). The Supreme Court decides only a small share of the cases it is asked to hear, so for most litigants the circuit court is the end of the road. A confirmation to one of those seats is a lifetime grant of that final say over a region of the country.

US Political Rank scores the highest court on documented influence rather than ideology in its ranking of Supreme Court justices by influence, and the same principle applies one level down: the record is the appointments made and the seats filled, not the rhetoric around them. Every president adds to the ledger. The ledger, not the argument about it, is what lasts.

What to watch

Two markers matter from here. First, the vacancy count. The pace of circuit confirmations tracks the number of open seats, so the number of future appointments depends on how many judges retire or take senior status in the months ahead. Second, the margin. Schwartz was confirmed 50 to 45 on a party line vote, the pattern for contested appellate seats in a narrowly divided Senate, and that margin is the thing to watch on the next circuit nominee. The names change. The count keeps running, and it is the count, kept the same way for both parties, that will read as the record decades from now.