Records & Rankings

Presidents who appointed the most justices

Which president appointed the most Supreme Court justices?

George Washington appointed 11 Supreme Court justices, more than any other president.

Ranked by the number of Supreme Court justices each president named (elevations counted). Every president links to all the judges they appointed.

#NameDetailTo SCOTUS
1George Washington39 federal appointments11
2Franklin D. Roosevelt222 federal appointments9
3Andrew Jackson26 federal appointments6
4William H. Taft74 federal appointments6
5Abraham Lincoln44 federal appointments5
6Dwight D. Eisenhower191 federal appointments5
7Benjamin Harrison54 federal appointments4
8Grover Cleveland54 federal appointments4
9Harry S Truman152 federal appointments4
10Richard M. Nixon239 federal appointments4
11Ronald Reagan387 federal appointments4
12Ulysses Grant44 federal appointments4
13Warren G. Harding57 federal appointments4
14Donald J. Trump291 federal appointments3
15Herbert Hoover72 federal appointments3
16John Adams10 federal appointments3
17Theodore Roosevelt98 federal appointments3
18Thomas Jefferson14 federal appointments3
19Woodrow Wilson82 federal appointments3
20Barack Obama330 federal appointments2
21Chester A. Arthur24 federal appointments2
22George H.W. Bush194 federal appointments2
23George W. Bush328 federal appointments2
24James K. Polk9 federal appointments2
25James Madison12 federal appointments2

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Computed from the FJC Biographical Directory. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Verify against the primary source before relying.