Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Continuing To Confirm President Biden’s Highly Qualified Nominees To Serve In His Administration And On The Federal Bench

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the continued focus on confirming more of President Biden’s judicial and administration nominees. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Today the Senate is going to continue focusing on confirming even more of President Biden’s highly qualified nominees—both to serve in his Administration and for lifetime appointments on the federal bench.

Yesterday we confirmed three more district judges through this chamber, each with bipartisan support. We are going to continue today with two more nominees and I hope we can see continued bipartisan cooperation.

In less than a year, Senate Democrats have worked swiftly and decisively to fill vacancies on the federal bench with qualified, mainstream, and dedicated jurists. We are well on our way to making today’s federal bench the most diverse in a long, long time: through September, at least three-quarters of President Biden’s circuit-level nominees have been people of color. Let me say that again because that makes me proud: through September, at least three-quarters of President Biden's circuit-level nominees have been people of color. Nearly a third of all of President Biden’s judicial nominees are former public defenders, and several of them have impressive backgrounds as civil rights lawyers, voting rights champions, and experience outside the well-trodden path of corporate law or federal prosecution.

By focusing intentionally on confirming judges that bring both personal and professional experience to the judiciary, we are expanding the possibilities of who merits consideration to the bench at all. Judges are an essential component of a healthy democracy; we will strengthen the public’s trust in a fair, independent judiciary if the bench better reflects the rich diversity of this country, while adhering to the rule of law.

One confirmation at a time, Democrats are swiftly restoring balance to our courts—and we are full steam ahead to confirm more mainstream and qualified and diverse judges as they become available.

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