President Biden Announces Nominees to Federal Judgeships
President Biden on Wednesday announced five nominees to federal judgeships, including the first Muslim-American on any circuit court, looking to add to more than 150 of his judicial selections who have already been confirmed to the bench.
The announcements by the Democratic president are part of the White House's push to nominate diverse judges, especially those from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, and to do so even in states with Republican senators.
Mr. Biden nominated Nicole Berner, the general counsel of the Service Employees International Union, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. If confirmed by the Senate, Berner would be that court's first openly LGBTQ judge.
Adeel Mangi, Mr. Biden's nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, would be the first Muslim-American circuit court judge, if confirmed.
Mr. Biden nominated Judge Cristal Brisco, a state court judge who would be the first Black woman and the first woman of color to serve as federal district court judge in the Northern District of Indiana. He also nominated Judge Gretchen Lund, who has served on the bench for 15 years, for that district, which has multiple vacancies.
Judge Amy Baggio, a former assistant federal public defender who is now a state court judge, was nominated by the president for the District of Oregon.
The nominees include "four women, two nominees from a state represented by Senate Republicans, and three historic first nominees," according to the White House counsel Ed Siskel.
They further the president's goal of bringing professional and demographic diversity to the federal judiciary and demonstrate his commitment to working with senators from both parties, Siskel said in a statement.
According to the White House, President Biden has appointed more civil rights lawyers and public defenders than any previous president, setting records for professional diversity. The latest round of nominees continues to fulfill his promise of reflecting the nation's diversity in the courts, both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds, the White House added.
The president has put forward 42 slates of judicial nominees since taking office. The Senate has confirmed 154 life-tenured judicial nominees appointed by President Biden. According to the White House, two-thirds of these nominees are women and two-thirds are people of color. Among them is Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black female justice on the high court.
Mr. Biden has made a commitment to increase the diversity of judges on the federal bench by appointing more public defenders and civil rights lawyers compared to his predecessors.
The White House has stated that this is just the beginning and that there are more judicial appointments planned. However, the nomination process in the Senate, even with a Democratic majority, is slow, which means that Biden may struggle to match the more than 230 judges appointed by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, within four years.
Trump, who was defeated by Biden in the 2020 election and currently leads the 2024 Republican presidential primary, appointed three Supreme Court justices, while Biden has appointed one. The conservative majority of 6-3 in the Supreme Court, as a result of these appointments, led to significant decisions such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the end of affirmative action in higher education, and the expansion of gun rights.
