Making History: Senate Democrats Reach New Milestones On President Biden’s Judicial Nominees, Over 100 Women, 100 People Of Color And 50 Black Judges Have Now Been Confirmed To Lifetime Positions On The Federal Bench, All More Than In The Full First Term Of Any Previous President
Senate Democrats have prioritized the confirmation of President Biden’s judicial nominees since taking the majority – this week alone, this Senate confirmed five nominees to lifetime positions on the federal bench. This Senate has confirmed more women, more people of color, and more Black judges to serve on the federal bench than any Senate in any president’s first term in history. Today, Senate Democrats confirmed President Biden’s 152nd and 153rd judicial nominees, Monica Ramirez Almadani to the Central District of California and Brandy McMillion to the Eastern District of Michigan. Both of these women make history, as the 100th person of color and 50th Black judge respectively confirmed by Senate Democrats after nomination by President Biden. During President Biden’s first term, this Senate has confirmed more women of color to the bench than during any other president’s full time in office. This Senate has now confirmed 102 women to the federal bench – nearly double that of President Trump’s term and more than the full first term of any president. These well-qualified and historically diverse judges are helping to reshape the federal judiciary, and adding a new breadth of experience to the bench. From civil rights lawyers and defense attorneys to historic firsts like the first Muslim American man and woman confirmed to the federal judiciary, these judges are helping our legal system to better reflect America.
“Democrats are making our courts look more like America: this majority has confirmed more women, more Black people, more people of color to the bench, than any full first term of any previous president,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “That’s a record to be proud of.”
The well-qualified and diverse judicial nominees confirmed by this Senate are breaking barriers and making our courts more reflective of America. Of these 153 judicial nominees:
- 102/153 judicial nominees confirmed by this Senate are women
- 101/153 judicial nominees confirmed by this Senate are people of color
- 50/153 judicial nominees confirmed by this Senate are Black
- 33/153 judicial nominees confirmed by this Senate are Black women
- 29/153 judicial nominees confirmed by this Senate are Hispanic
In comparison to other presidents’ entire terms:
- This Senate has confirmed more women of color to the bench than any other president’s full time in office.
- This Senate has confirmed more women to judgeships than any Republican president’s full time in office.
This Senate has confirmed more people of color to Circuit Court judgeships than any other president’s full time in office.
- This Senate has confirmed more Asian and Native women to the federal bench than under any other president’s full time in office.
The 100 women and people of color confirmed to the federal judiciary include:
- Roughly two-thirds women of color
- The first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court
- The first Muslim American man and woman on the federal bench
- The first out lesbian to serve on any federal circuit court
- The first Navajo federal judge
These judges are helping to expand the depth of experience on the federal bench. From Myrna Perez, formerly the director of the Brennan Center's Voting Rights and Elections Program, to the Innocence Project’s former senior litigation counsel, Nina Morrison, and Julie Rikelman, the attorney who defended the Mississippi clinic in the Dobbs case that ultimately overturned Roe, these judges are adding important, previously underrepresented perspectives to the federal bench.
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