Article III, Section I, of the Constitution provides, in part, that the "judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish." It further provides that Justices on the Supreme Court and judges on lower courts established by Congress under Article III have what effectively has come to mean life tenure, holding office "during good Behaviour." Along with the Supreme Court, the courts that constitute the Article III courts in the federal system are the U.S. circuit courts of appeals, the U.S. district courts, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. This report concerns nominations made by President Obama and other recent Presidents to the U.S. circuit courts of appeals and the U.S. district courts. Outside the report's scope are the occasional nominations that these Presidents made to the Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of International Trade. In recent Congresses, there has been ongoing interest in the process by which U.S. circuit and district court judges are nominated by the President and approved by the Senate. During Senate debates over judicial nominations, differing perspectives have been expressed about the relative degree of success of a President's nominees in gaining Senate confirmation, compared with the nominees of other recent Presidents. Additionally, Senate debate has, at times, concerned whether a President's judicial nominees, relative to the nominees of other recent Presidents, had to wait longer before receiving consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee or "up-or-down" floor votes on confirmation. Of related concern to Congress has been increases in recent years in the number of vacant judgeships in the federal judiciary, the frequency with which vacant judgeships are considered "judicial emergencies," and the time it has taken to process nominations to fill judicial vacancies. Perhaps in response to some of the issues described above, the Senate, on November 21, 2013, reinterpreted the application of Senate Rule XXII to floor consideration of presidential nominations by overturning a ruling of the chair on appeal. For nominations other than to the Supreme Court, the new precedent lowered the vote threshold by which cloture can be invoked—from three-fifths of the Senate to a simple majority of those voting, thereby enabling a supportive majority to reach an 'up-or-down' vote on confirming a nomination. The reinterpretation of the application of Senate Rule XXII, hereinafter referred to as "the reinterpretation," was in effect from November 21, 2013, during the first session of the 113 th Congress (near the end of President Obama's fifth calendar year in office) to the end of the second session of the 113 th Congress (through President Obama's entire sixth calendar year in office). As of this writing, the reinterpretation continues to be in effect during the 114 th Congress. The purpose of this report is to provide an annual update of certain statistics related to the nomination and confirmation of lower federal court judges during the current presidency, with a focus on the aggregate or cumulative statistics related to the current President's first six years in office, as well as highlights from his most recent year in office (i.e., his sixth year). Such statistics represent but one approach to analyzing the nomination and confirmation process for lower federal court nominees—other analyses, for example, might focus on nomination and confirmation statistics presented by Congress (rather than by presidency) or calendar year. Specifically, in light of continued Senate interest in the judicial selection and confirmation process, this report seeks to inform the ongoing debate in three ways: (1) by comparing the number and percentage of U.S. circuit and district court nominees who were confirmed during the first six years of the Reagan, Clinton, G.W. Bush, and Obama presidencies, as well as during just the sixth year of each presidency; (2) by providing, for the same four Presidents, a comparison of the time from nomination to confirmation for circuit and district court nominees approved by the Senate during each President's first six years; and (3) by comparing the percentage of circuit and district court judgeships vacant at the beginning of each President's sixth and seventh years in office as well as the percentage of such vacancies considered "judicial emergencies." In order to provide these statistics with some recent historical context, the report includes a comparative component (as described above) in which statistics during the current President's first six years are compared to the same statistics from other recent two-term presidencies. The report does not delve into analyses of issues more relevant to past presidencies but rather is intended to provide analysis and context related to the nomination and confirmation of the current President's judicial nominees. This report does not analyze or take a position on the number or percentage of a President's judicial nominations that would be appropriate for the Senate to confirm, or on the average (and median) length of time that would be appropriate for, or needed by, the Senate to take final action on such nominations. Table 1 presents, during the first six years of a presidency for Presidents Reagan through Obama, (1) the total number of circuit court nominees; (2) the total number, and percentage, of circuit nominees confirmed by the end of a President's sixth year in office; (3) the number, and percentage, confirmed after his sixth year; and (4) the number, and percentage, of circuit nominees never confirmed. Note that Table 1 does not include individuals first nominated and then confirmed during a President's seventh or eighth year in office and, thus, does not reflect the total number or percentage of nominees confirmed during the full eight years of each presidency. While Presidents sometimes have nominated particular individuals to a court more than once, Table 1 counts such nominees only once (as does Table 2 below). In other words, neither table accounts for multiple nominations of the same individual to the same court. Table 1 reveals that each President nominated between 61 and 68 individuals to circuit court judgeships during their first six years in office. Presidents Reagan and G.W. Bush nominated the greatest number of individuals (each nominating 68), while President Obama nominated the fewest number of individuals (61). President Reagan had the highest percentage of circuit court nominees confirmed by the end of his sixth year in office (97.1%)—all but two of the individuals nominated to circuit court judgeships from 1981 through 1986 were confirmed by the end of 1986. President G.W. Bush had the lowest percentage of circuit court nominees confirmed by the end of his sixth year in office (75.0% by the end of 2006), followed by Presidents Clinton (80.6% by the end of 1998) and Obama (with the second-highest percentage, 86.9%, by the end of 2014). In terms of the number, rather than the percentage, of individuals approved by the Senate by the end of a President's sixth year in office, President Reagan had the greatest number confirmed (66) and President Clinton the fewest (50), followed by Presidents G.W. Bush (51) and Obama (with the second-highest, 53, by the end of his sixth year). Of the eight circuit court nominees who were nominated during President Obama's first six years but not confirmed during that same period, two have, as of this writing, been renominated during the 114 th Congress. If these two nominees are confirmed, the number and percentage of nominees confirmed who were first nominated during President Obama's first six years, would increase to 55 and 90.2%, respectively. Four circuit court nominees who were nominated during President G.W. Bush's first six years were eventually confirmed later in his presidency, raising the number and percentage of nominees confirmed who were first nominated during his first six years to 55 and 80.9%, respectively. Four circuit court nominees who were nominated during President Clinton's first six years were eventually confirmed later in his presidency (i.e., during his seventh year or later), raising the number and percentage of nominees confirmed who were first nominated during his first six years to 54 and 87.1%, respectively. Of those individuals nominated during the first six years of a presidency, President G.W. Bush had the highest number and percentage who were never confirmed (13 and 19.1%, respectively), followed by Presidents Clinton (8 and 12.9%) and Reagan (2 and 2.9%). Table 2 presents, during the first six years of the Reagan, Clinton, G.W. Bush, and Obama presidencies, (1) the total number of district court nominees; (2) the total number, and percentage, of district nominees confirmed by the end of each President's sixth year in office; (3) the number, and percentage, confirmed after his sixth year; and (4) the number, and percentage, of district nominees never confirmed. Note that Table 2 does not include individuals first nominated and then confirmed during a President's seventh or eighth year in office and, thus, does not reflect the total number or percentage of nominees confirmed during the full eight years of each presidency. The table reveals that each President nominated between 230 and 275 individuals to district court judgeships during his first six years in office, with Presidents Clinton and Obama nominating the greatest number of individuals (275 and 270, respectively). President G.W. Bush nominated the fewest number of individuals during his first six years in office (234). President Reagan had the highest percentage of district court nominees confirmed by the end of his sixth year in office (97.4%), while President G.W. Bush had the lowest percentage of nominees confirmed by the end of his sixth year (86.8%). President Clinton had 90.2% confirmed, while President Obama had the second-highest percentage (92.6%) confirmed during the first six years of his presidency.