Biden taps first judge nominees
Potential Supreme Court choice is included in group
President Joe Biden announced his first slate of judicial nominees Tuesday, moving quickly to put a diverse cast on the federal judiciary and placing a 50-year-old federal judge in position to potentially become the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 11 nominees contrasted sharply with the people appointed to the bench by former President Trump, who were overwhelmingly white and male. All three of Biden’s initial nominees to the federal appeals courts, the second-highest tier in the judicial system, are Black women. The nominees for federal district court posts include people who, if confirmed, would become the first Muslim federal judge and the first woman of color to serve on the federal bench in Maryland.
In a statement, Biden referred to his picks as a “trailblazing slate of nominees” drawn from “the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession.”
“Each is deeply qualified and prepared to deliver justice faithfully under our Constitution and impartially to the American people - and together they represent the broad diversity of background, experience, and perspective that makes our nation strong,” he said.
The current Biden nominee likely to attract the most attention, especially in the Senate, which will consider their confirmations this spring, is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who currently serves as a federal district judge in Washington.
Biden has nominated her to serve on the D.C. Circuit federal court of appeals. That court is often tagged as the second-most influential in the country because of the many high-profile government-related cases that land on its docket. It has often served as a springboard for the Supreme Court.
Jackson, a well-regarded district court judge, has often been mentioned as a potential Supreme Court nominee in a Democratic administration.
White House officials were quick to note that naming 11 judicial nominees by the end of March puts Biden ahead of the pace set by his predecessors. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain tweeted statistics Tuesday showing that in their first 100 days, President Obama made three nominations and Trump two while neither President Clinton nor President George W. Bush made any.
The president previously served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, giving him extensive experience with the nomination process.
Because many judges appointed by Democrats held off on retiring while Trump was in office, Biden has more than 60 vacancies to fill, and the number is expected to continue to grow this year.
On the Supreme Court, where Republican appointees have a 6-3 majority, Biden’s first chance to fill a seat could come if Justice Steven G. Breyer, 82, as widely expected, steps down from the court either at the end of the current term, in June, or next year to ensure that Biden can appoint his successor while Democrats control the Senate.