President Biden’s top advisers have spent months building an extensive pipeline of judicial nominees to fill court vacancies throughout the country, attempting to swiftly remake portions of the judiciary and undo one of his predecessor’s most significant achievements.

President Donald Trump dramatically reshaped the courts over his four-year term with a record pace of nominations, and now Biden — who took part in hundreds of confirmations as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee — is eager to leave his mark with nominees of his own.

More than a third of judges nationwide serving on federal appeals courts one level below the Supreme Court are eligible to step back from active service. With Democrats narrowly controlling the Senate — and with the prospect that they could lose control during the 2022 midterms — Biden intends to move quickly to fill openings that arise on courts affecting significant policies, including environmental regulations, gun laws and immigration.

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“Lots of Democratic appointees have deferred going senior or retiring because Trump was president,” said Ed Whelan, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center and a close observer of the courts. “If you’re a Democratic appointee disinclined to have a Republican replace you, you were even less inclined to have Donald Trump replace you.”….

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Exactly how many openings Biden has to fill will depend in large part on the highly personal decision of individual judges weighing whether to take senior status. There are incentives and drawbacks. Senior judges continue to hear cases, just a smaller number, and still receive their full salary, but without limits on income from teaching, for instance….

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image….Biden talking to Majority Leader Schumer who will led the confirmation of judges in the Senate…Yahoo News