WASHINGTON – The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the 200th federal judge of President Joe Biden’s term, about a month earlier than when Donald Trump reached that milestone in his term, although Trump still maintains the advantage when it comes to the most impactful confirmations — those for the Supreme Court. and the country’s 13 appeals courts.
The March to 200 culminated in the confirmation of Angela Martinez as a district court judge in Arizona. The milestone reflects the importance that Biden, former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., placed on judicial confirmations after Trump put his enormous stamp on the federal judiciary with the confirmation of three Supreme Court decisions. judges.
“Reaching 200 justices is an important milestone,” Schumer said shortly before the 66-28 vote. “Simply put, our 200 judges make up the most diverse list of judicial appointments under any president in American history.”
The current pace of judicial confirmations for this White House comes despite Biden, a Democrat, taking office in 2021 with far fewer vacancies, especially on the influential appeals courts, than Trump, a Republican, did in 2017.
“There is more work to do,” Biden said in a statement after the vote. “In the future, I will continue my solemn responsibility to nominate individuals who have distinguished themselves in their professional careers, who reflect the communities they serve and who apply the law impartially and without favoritism.”
However, it is unclear whether Biden will be able to eclipse his predecessor’s 234 judges before the end of the year.
Democrats have solidly supported the president’s judicial nominations, but there have been some flaws in that decision in recent weeks. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has said he wouldn’t support candidates who don’t have some bipartisan support, and Nevada’s two Democratic senators oppose a candidate who would become the nation’s first Muslim appeals court judge. They did so after some law enforcement groups spoke out against the appointment.
The White House is aware of the obstacles as it races to surpass Trump’s feat. It’s a high point that continues to be a point of pride for the former president and the top Republicans who made it happen, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Filling dozens of judicial vacancies requires time on the Senate floor calendar, which becomes scarcer as senators in the narrowly divided chamber shift into campaign mode in an election year.
Of the more than 40 current judicial vacancies across the country, half are in states with two Republican senators. This is important because for district court judges, home state senators can still exercise virtual veto power over White House nominations due to a long Senate tradition.
White House officials say they are under no illusions about the challenges they face, but feel reaching 235 is possible. This doesn’t sit well with Republicans.
“Unfortunately, they learned from our example about prioritizing lifetime commitments,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. However, liberal advocacy groups are encouraged by the results so far.
“I can’t praise these judges enough,” said Jake Faleschini, who leads appointments work at the Alliance for Justice. “It has been nothing short of transformative for the federal judiciary in terms of excellence, but also demographic and professional diversity.”
At this stage of his term, Trump had two Supreme Court justices and 51 appeals court judges confirmed for lifetime appointments. Biden has recalled a Supreme Court justice and 42 appeals court judges. Biden has more confirmations of district judges who handle civil and criminal cases. These appointments tend to be less competitive.
Biden has emphasized adding more female and minority judges to the federal bench. In this sense, 127 of the 200 judges confirmed to the bench are women. Fifty-eight are black and 36 are Hispanic, according to Schumer’s office. Thirty-five justices are Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, more than any other administration, according to the White House.
In the appeals courts, 30 of the 42 circuit judges confirmed during Biden’s term are women, according to the White House. Thirteen black women were chosen as circuit judges, more than all previous administrations combined.
Under Biden, more Hispanic judges have been confirmed to appeals courts than any other administration.
Given that access to abortion remains a vital priority for the Biden administration and a key argument for the president’s re-election bid, the White House is also appointing several judges with experience on the issue. They include Judge Julie Rikelman of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, who before her appointment defended the abortion clinic in Dobbs v. Jackson, the 2022 decision that dismantled Roe v. and Nicole Berner, a former Planned Parenthood attorney who now serves on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Conservatives say it’s good to have diversity, but that shouldn’t be the focus.
“I think the right standard is not to try to check the boxes with nominees, but to try to find men and women who will be faithful to the Constitution and the rule of law,” said Carrie Severino, president of JCN, a conservative group that has worked to increase the support for Trump’s nominees.
About a quarter of the judges appointed by Trump were women and about 1 in 6 were minorities, according to the Pew Research Center.
Asked about the diversity of Biden’s nominees, Republican senators said there was too much focus on “identity politics.”
“I am interested in competent lawyers who administer justice fairly. Now, there are women who can do this. There are men who can do this. There are people of color who can do this,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “But the main characteristic they are most proud of is their racial or gender identification and activism. And I just don’t think that’s what the American people want to see in their justice system.”
Advocates for diversifying the federal judiciary argue that people who appear in court have more trust in the legal process when they see people who look like them. They stated that it is important to also diversify the professional training of judges, so that they are considered more public defenders and those with experience in civil rights or non-profits.
“The American people deserve federal judges who not only look like America, but who understand the American experience from every angle,” said Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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