Although Nixon had built his reputation as a. Nixon made four successful appointments to the Supreme Court while in office, shifting the Court in a more conservative direction following the era of the liberal Warren Court. Nixon took office with one pending vacancy, as the Senate had rejected President Johnson's nomination of Associate Justice Abe Fortas to succeed retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren. Months after taking office, Nixon nominated federal appellate judge Warren E. Burger to succeed Warren, and the Senate quickly confirmed Burger. Nixon then nominated federal appellate judge Harry Blackmun, who was confirmed by the Senate in 1970. The retirements of Hugo Black and John Marshall Harlan II created two Supreme Court vacancies in late 1971. In addition to his four Supreme Court appointments, Nixon appointed 46 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 181 judges to the United States district courts.