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The Length of Major Steps in the Supreme

Court Appointment Process (1975-2022)



April  13, 2026

This Insight provides historical data and information related to the length of time it has taken to appoint
new Justices to the Supreme Court from 1975 to 2022. Specifically, for individuals nominated to the
Court during this period, this Insight provides information about how long it has taken for each major step
in the appointment process to occur, from the date on which it was publicly known a vacancy would occur
to the date on which the Senate voted on the nomination.
Additional information about the Supreme Court appointment process can be found in CRS reports
related to a President's selection of a nominee, consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and
Senate debate and confirmation vote.

Days  Elapsed  from  Vacancy  to Nomination Announcement
Figure 1 shows the number of days that elapsed between the date on which it was publicly known that a
Justice was leaving the Court (due to retirement or death) and the date on which the President publicly
identified a nominee to replace the Justice.
The figure only shows those vacancies on the Court for which a single nomination was made for the
vacancy to be filled. Consequently, for example, the vacancy created by the death of Justice Scalia is not
included in Figure 1 (since more than one nomination was made before it was filled).
Overall, for the 14 vacancies included in the figure, approximately 20 days, on average, elapsed between
the date on which it was publicly known that a Justice was leaving the Court and the date on which the
President publicly identified a nominee to replace the Justice (the median was 14 days).
For the seven Justices currently serving on the Court who are also included in Figure 1, the average
number of days from a vacancy occurring to a President's public announcement of a nomination to the
Court was 16 days (the median was 12 days). For the most recent vacancy in 2022, President Biden
nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson 29 days after Justice Stephen Breyer announced his intention to
vacate his seat on the Court.




                                                                Congressional Research Service
                                                                https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                     IN12679

CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress