Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On This Senate Making Historic Progress By Continuing To Confirm President Biden’s Diverse And Qualified Judicial Nominees

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the Senate continuing to make historic progress by confirming President Biden’s judicial nominations, including District Court nominees Nina Nin-Yuen Wang, Nancy Maldonado, and DC Circuit Court nominee Judge Michelle Childs later today. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

As we move forward on legislation to boost chip manufacturing, there’s a lot to do on the nominations front, too.

Let me start with a very important number: seventy-three. Let me say that again: seventy-three.

That is the total number of judges that the Senate will hopefully have confirmed by the end of today. A year and a half into President Biden’s term that is a nothing short of a towering achievement.

Here is how we will reach that figure today:

Later this morning, the Senate will vote to confirm Nina Nin-Yuen Wang as U.S. District Judge for the District of Colorado. This afternoon, we will hold a confirmation vote on Nancy Maldonado for the Northern District of Illinois.

I expect these well-qualified nominees to move through this chamber with bipartisan support.

And, as soon as today, the Senate will also vote on the confirmation of Judge Michelle Childs of South Carolina to serve on the D.C. Circuit.

Judge Childs will be the fourth—only the fourth—black woman to ever sit on the D.C. Circuit, founded nearly 130 years ago. Confirming this remarkable jurist is an important step to reversing generations of underrepresentation and making our courts better reflect the nation.

Let’s not forget, after the Supreme Court, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is the most important federal court in the country, regularly taking up cases that the Supreme Court is unable to consider. Oftentimes, the D.C. Circuit makes the final decision on some of the most important cases in the country, particularly those involving Congress and the executive branch.

It is a really important court. Remember, the Supreme Court only hears about 75 cases a year. So lots of very vital cases are decided by this Circuit Court of Appeals.

The judges who preside on the D.C. Circuit must be individuals of high character and unassailable qualification—and that is precisely what we have in Judge Childs. She is a native of Detroit, a graduate of the Universities of South Florida, South Carolina, and Duke. Judge Childs has built a reputation as both a trailblazing jurist and a staunch defender of the Constitution. She already commands strong bipartisan support from both sides of the aisle, and I thank my Democrat and Republican colleagues for their support of the Judge.

As the Senate continues to fulfill its duty of confirming more qualified judges, we hope the trailblazers of today can be closer to the norm of tomorrow: we want our courts to include more women, more diverse candidates, both demographically and professionally, and more judges who come from unique backgrounds. Our courts, our democracy, and the American people will be better off for these efforts.

There is not a doubt in my mind Judge Childs will help advance this noble goal. I look forward to her final confirmation.

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