The shortage of judges that plagues New Jersey’s federal courts became even worse on the first day of Freda Wolfson’s tenure as chief judge.

The retirement of the previous chief judge, Jose Linares, in mid-May brought the number of vacancies to six on the state’s federal bench, out of 17 authorized judgeships. The number of judicial vacancies in New Jersey has grown because President Donald Trump has yet to make any district court nominations for New Jersey during his two years in the White House.