The following tables show totals for Senate confirmations of both district court and circuit court nominees for the Clinton presidency and the Bush presidency,* by Congress, noting the party in control of the Senate.
|
President Clinton |
District court confirmed |
Circuit Court confirmed |
Senate controlled by |
|
103rd Cong (93-94) |
108 |
19 |
Dem |
|
104th Cong (95-96) |
62 |
11 |
Rep |
|
105th Cong (97-98) |
80 |
20 |
Rep |
|
106th Cong (99-00) |
57 |
15 |
Rep |
|
Totals |
307 |
65 |
|
|
President George W. Bush |
District court |
Circuit Court |
Senate controlled by |
|
107th Cong (01-02) |
83 |
17 |
Dem |
|
108th Cong (03-04) |
85 |
18 |
Rep |
|
109th Cong (05-06) |
35 |
16 |
Rep |
|
110th Cong (07-08)* |
58 |
10 |
Dem |
|
Totals* |
261 |
61 |
|
*As of October 6, 2008 – The current 110th Congress runs through December, 2008.
Some basic facts jump out of the data:
Bush's numbers are significantly lower than Clinton's, and at the current rate of confirmations in the Democrat-controlled Senate, there is no way that Bush will achieve anywhere close to the number of judges confirmed during the Clinton administration for either the district courts or the higher level circuit courts.
Senate Republicans are often criticized by Democrats for obstructing Clinton's nominees during the 1990's. However, Clinton's confirmation numbers will exceed Bush's despite the fact that Republicans controlled the Senate during 3 of 4 congressional terms during the Clinton years.
