President Biden is the oldest president in U.S. history. He still has not addressed the question of whether he will run for re-election in 2024.
President Biden pardoned thousands of people who have been arrested for possession of marijuana. The pardons will clear everyone convicted on federal charges of simple possession since it became a crime in the 1970s. About 6,500 people were convicted of simple possession between 1992 and 2021.
The pardons will not apply to people convicted of selling or distributing marijuana. There are no people now serving time in federal prisons solely for marijuana possession. The move will help remove obstacle for people trying to get a job, find housing, apply to college, or get federal benefits. [NYT 10/6/22]
President Biden’s job approval ratings
| Date | NBC | WP/ABC | CNN | FOX | QUINNIPIAC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEPT’22 | 45/52 | 39/55 | 40/53 | 43/56 | 41/53 |
| AUG’22 | 42/55 | xxx | xxx | 41/55 | 43/53 |
| JULY’22 | xxx | xxx | xxx | 36/58 | 33/59 |
| JUNE’22 | xxx | xxx | xxx | 43/57 | 35/56 |
| MAY’22 | xxx | xxx | xxx | xxx | 38/55 |
| MAY’22 | 42/54 | xxx | xxx | xxx | xxx |
| APR’22 | xxx | 42/52 | 41/59 | 45/53 | 40/51 |
| APR’22 | xxx | xxx | xxx | xxx | 35/55 |
| MAR’22 | xxx | xxx | xxx | xxx | 40/54 |
| MAR’22 | 41/54 | xxx | xxx | 45/54 | 38/55 |
| FEB’22 | xxx | 38/57 | 42/57 | xxx | 37/56 |
| JAN’22 | 44/54 | xxx | xxx | 47/52 | 34/54 |
| DEC’21 | xxx | xxx | 48/52 | 47/51 | xxx |
| NOV’21 | xxx | xxx | 45/54 | xxx | xxx |
| NOV’21 | xxx | 38/57 | 48/52 | 44/54 | 38/53 |
| OCT’21 | 45/52 | xxx | 50/50 | xxx | 40/51 |
| Date | ECON/YOUGOV | POL/MORNCON |
|---|---|---|
| SEPT’22 | 49/50 | 46/52 |
| AUG’22 | 41/55 | 42/56 |
| JULY’22 | 40/55 | 39/59 |
| JULY’22 | 41/53 | xxx |
| JUNE’22 | 44/51 | 40/56 |
| JUNE’22 | 43/51 | 39/58 |
| MAY’22 | 44/51 | 42/56 |
| MAY’22 | 43/51 | 44/54 |
| MAY’22 | 42/51 | 42/55 |
| APR’22 | 46/50 | 41/55 |
| APR’22 | xxx | 42/55 |
| APR’22 | 43/51 | 45/52 |
| APR’22 | 46/49 | 41/55 |
| MAR’22 | 43/50 | xxx |
| MAR’22 | 45/49 | 42/54 |
| MAR’22 | 41/53 | 42/55 |
| MAR’22 | 44/49 | 45/51 |
| FEB’22 | 42/53 | 43/53 |
| FEB’22 | 41/51 | 41/55 |
| FEB’22 | 45/49 | xxx |
| JAN’22 | xxx | 43/54 |
| JAN’22 | 41/51 | 42/55 |
| JAN’22 | 42/53 | xxx |
| JAN’22 | 45/51 | 40/56 |
| DEC’21 | xxx | 43/53 |
| DEC’21 | 42/53 | 46/51 |
| NOV’21 | 44/50 | xxx |
| NOV’21 | 43/51 | 44/53 |
| NOV’21 | 45/49 | 46/51 |
| OCT’21 | xxx | 45/52 |
| OCT’21 | 42/51 | 46/51 |
| OCT’21 | 44/49 | 45/52 |
| SEPT’21 | 46/58 | 47/50 |
As of October 9, 2022, the following is Biden’s approval rating based on Real Clear Politics.
| Approval | Disapproval | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 42.9% | 53.1% | 10/9/22 |
| On the economy | 33.8% | 59.0% | 10/3/22 |
| On foreign policy | 41.2% | 53.2% | 10/3/22 |
Gallup now does monthly or semi-monthly surveys of all adults. WW will include a periodic polling summary of Registered and Likely Voters by FiveThirtyEight.
| Gallup (All Adults) | FiveThirtyEight (Reg/Likely | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Approval | Disapproval | Approval | Disapproval |
| 9/16/22 | 42.0% | 56.0% | 42.5% | 52.0% |
| 8/23/22 | 44.0% | 53.0% | 42.7% | 52.8% |
| 5/22/22 | 41.0% | 54.0% | 41.1% | 54.3% |
| 4/19/22 | 41.0% | 56.0% | 42.4% | 53.1% |
| 3/18/22 | 42.0% | 54.0% | 42.1% | 52.8% |
| 2/17/22 | 41.0% | 55.0% | 41.4% | 53.0% |
| 1/16/22 | 40.0% | 56.0% | 42.5% | 52.1% |
| 12/16/21 | 43.0% | 51.0% | 43.7% | 50.7% |
| 11/16/21 | 42.0% | 55.0% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| 10/19/21 | 42.0% | 52.0% | 44.1% | 49.9% |
| 9/17/21 | 43.0% | 53.0% | 45.7% | 48.8% |
| 8/17/21 | 49.0% | 48.0% | 48.5% | 45.9% |
| 6/18/21 | 56.0% | 42.0% | 51.8% | 42.4% |
| 5/18/21 | 54.0% | 40.0% | 52.7% | 40.7% |
Using Gallup (all adults) as the marker, Biden’s approval rating has fallen by 1 point in the last year and his disapproval has grown by 3 points.
Judges Nominated and Confirmed to Date
As of October 4, 2022, the United States Senate has confirmed 84 federal judges nominated by President Biden. One Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 25 judges for the United States Courts of Appeals, and 58 judges for the United States District Courts.
There are 57 nominations awaiting Senate action: 12 for the Courts of appeals and 45 for the District Courts. There are 9 vacancies in the U.S. Courts of Appeals, 74 vacancies on the U.S. District Courts and 2 vacancies in the United States Court of International Trade.
The chart below reflects the number of Article III court judges appointed by every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter.
| Total | Supreme Ct | Appeals Ct | District Ct | Int’l Trade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biden – 1 year + | 84 | 1 | 25 | 58 | |
| Trump – 4 years | 234 | 3 | 54 | 174 | 3 |
| Obama – 8 years | 325 | 2 | 55 | 268 | |
| GW Bush – 8 years | 325 | 2 | 62 | 261 | |
| Clinton – 8 years | 373 | 2 | 66 | 305 | |
| GHW Bush – 4 years | 192 | 2 | 42 | 148 | |
| Reagan – 8 years | 376 | 3 | 83 | 290 | |
| Carter – 4 years | 259 | 0 | 56 | 203 |
[USCourts/Wikipedia/List of federal judges appointed by Joe Biden]
There are roughly 4,000 politically appointed positions in the executive branch and independent agencies, including more than 1,200 that require Senate confirmation.
The Washington Post and the Partnership for Public Service are tracking 810 of those 1200 positions.
- 465 have been confirmed by the Senate
- 125 nominees are being considered by the Senate
- 3 are awaiting formal nomination
- 77 positions have no Biden nominee
- 140 appointees are serving in termed positions or were held over from previous administrations
[WP 10/3/22]
The following are the favorability ratings for a variety of political leaders based on the Real Clear Politics averages for 10/3/22.
| Favorable | Unfavorable | |
|---|---|---|
| Biden | 43.8 | 52.2 |
| Harris | 38.8 | 51.2 |
| Trump | 41.3 | 54.2 |
| Pelosi | 35.0 | 57.5 |
| Schumer | 32.0 | 47.5 |
| McCarthy | 30.7 | 43.3 |
| McConnell | 25.3 | 58.3 |