Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Continuing Work To Advance Critical Biden Nominees

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the nomination of Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara, nominated by President Biden to serve as District Judge for the Eastern District of New York and Ronald Keohane, Buffalo Native as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Today, the Senate will continue our work to confirm President Biden’s nominees. We’ll begin by confirming Ronald Keohane – a proud Buffalo, New York native – as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, and I am proud to support this great New Yorker.

Mr. Keohane is exceptionally qualified for this position, having served in various support roles for our servicemembers and their families during his 30-year career. He served in the Obama Administration in a similar role as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Military Community and Family Policy. So, Mr. Keohane is the right man for the job because he understands the value of caring for our servicemembers and their families.

Off the floor, the Senate is also moving forward with more of President Biden’s judicial nominees. I just returned from the Judiciary Committee, where I had the honor of introducing Judge Sanket Bulsara, whom I recommended to President Biden to serve as District Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

Judge Bulsara made history in 2017 as the first South Asian American judge to serve in any court within the Second Circuit when appointed as a Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

New York’s South Asian population, I am proud to say, is one of the fastest growing in New York. We have the largest South Asian community in a metropolitan area in the country, and these folks are hard-working. They raise good families. They make sure that they do everything they can to see their children have better lives than they do, often through education and study and hard work. They're law-abiding and they are great Americans, part of the American dream. And so I feel proud when they are elevated to an exalted position like federal judge.

Judge Bulsara is the epitome of the American Dream, just like so many in the South Asian community. He’s a proud son of hard-working immigrant parents from India and Kenya, and a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law. He has considerable experience in both the public and private sectors.

If confirmed, Judge Bulsara would make an exceptional addition to the Eastern District, and I am very proud to champion his nomination.

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