President Joe Biden’s administration is celebrating the diversity of his circuit and district court nominees. The White House released the following statement on Monday:
Over the course of 2021, the US Senate has successfully confirmed 40 of President Biden’s circuit and district court nominees – the most since Reagan was president. The judges represent the diversity of the American public: 78% of the confirmed judges are women, 53% are persons of color. These confirmed judges represent numerous historic firsts, including:
- First openly LGBT woman ever to serve as a federal appellate judge in American history (Judge Beth Robinson, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit)
- First African American judge ever to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Judge Tiffany Cunningham)
- First Muslim American person ever to serve as a federal judge in American history (Judge Zahid Quraishi, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey)
- Only active Latina serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and just the second Latina ever to serve on that court (Judge Myrna Perez)
- First Korean American woman to serve as a federal appellate judge (Judge Lucy Koh, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
- First Native American judge to serve anywhere in Washington State (Judge Lauren King, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington)
And, these judges represent the rich professional diversity of the legal profession: 20% of the confirmed judges were civil rights lawyers, and 40% served as public defenders during their legal career.
President Biden has spent decades committed to strengthening the federal bench, which is why he has appointed judges who are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution to serve the American people.
