Judge David Tatel, a steady and influential voice on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, will take senior status, he said Thursday.

Tatel, 78, was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994 to fill the vacancy on the influential appeals court created by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court confirmation. His semiretirement will now allow President Joe Biden to fill two seats on the D.C. Circuit, as Judge Merrick Garland is expected to be confirmed next month as attorney general.