On Tuesday, the Democrat-led Senate delivered President Joe Biden a key milestone, confirming his 100th judicial nominee to the federal bench.
The Senate voted 54-45 to confirm Gina Méndez-Miró to serve as U.S. District Court Judge for Puerto Rico, making her the first openly LGBT federal district court judge in the island territory’s history. Four lawmakers – Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Roger Wicker, R-Miss. – voted with Democrats to confirm Méndez-Miró to the bench.
Later Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Lindsay Jenkins to serve as as U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in a 59-40 vote, making her Biden's 101st nominee to be confirmed.
The chamber on Monday confirmed Biden’s 99th judge: Cindy Chung, who will serve as a circuit judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which handles cases in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Chung, who previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, is the first Asian American to hold the role.
All told, Biden has seen 69 district court judges confirmed, 30 circuit court judges and one Supreme Court justice — Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the highest court in the land.
"As a former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, strengthening the federal judiciary with extraordinarily qualified judges who are devoted to our Constitution and the rule of law has been among my proudest work in office," President Biden said in a statement. "I’m especially proud that the nominees I have put forward—and the Senate has confirmed—represent the diversity that is one of our best assets as a nation, and that our shared work has broken so many barriers in just 2 years."
"We have made important progress in ensuring that the federal judiciary not only looks more like the nation as a whole, but also includes judges from professional backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented on the bench," he continued.
"To that end, I have appointed more federal circuit judges with experience as public defenders than all prior presidents combined. Seventy-six percent of the Article III judges confirmed during my Administration have been women, and 68% have been people of color. I was proud to nominate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, and I am also proud to have confirmed 12 Black women to serve on federal circuit courts—more than all other Presidents combined."
"Since long before the inauguration, I directed my team to make judicial confirmations a leading priority of this administration, and they acted quickly to begin consultations with Senators from both parties about how we could be as productive as possible," Biden said. "And we certainly have been productive."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has pledged that confirming judges would be a “top priority” for this Congress, which saw Democrats expand their majority while narrowly losing the House of Representatives.
Ahead of the vote on Méndez-Miró, Schumer cheered hitting what he called "a major milestone" of 100 judges.
"That's 100 judges who will bring balance and excellence to the federal bench, 100 judges who have expanded the diversity and dynamism of the judiciary, 100 judges who embody the best of our justice system: experience, fair-mindedness, and, most of all, fidelity tothe Constitution," Schumer said.
Schumer hailed the diverse makeup of the judges that the Senate has advanced under his leadership, including the fact that 76 of the 100 are women and 68 are people of color, including the first Muslim-American judge, Zahid Quraishi, who was confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey last year.
"We Democrats are proud, very proud, that we're changing that," he said. "Diversity is something we are all proud to celebrate. But it's not diversity on its own that matters here. If our democracy is to prosper in the 21st century, the American people must have confidence that our federal courts can faithfully adhere to the principle of equal justice under law."
"The more our judges reflect our nation's vibrancy and diversity, the more effective they will be in administering equal justice, he continued. "The more Americans look at our courts and see people who look like them and come from their backgrounds and share similar experiences, the better off our justices our judicial system will be."
Given that a split Congress limits the president’s party somewhat in passing meaningful legislation, Democrats appear focused on reshaping the federal judiciary after Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, saw 234 judges appointed to the bench, the most of any president in a single term since Jimmy Carter — including three Supreme Court justices.
Biden at this point in his term has already exceeded the pace of both the Trump administration and the administration of his former boss, Barack Obama, per Schumer and Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
"Equally as important as the numbers, we are seeing diverse nominees confirmed — in both their professional and demographic backgrounds," Durbin said Tuesday. "Our effort to bring balance to the courts has been one of this Senate’s truly great successes."
Durbin and Schumer both pledged that they were not done, with the Majority Leader praising the Judiciary Chairman for his work in advancing another two dozen nominees through the committee.
"The Senate will keep going to confirm even more judges to the bench as quickly as we can," Schumer said. "When we began our majority, I said judges would be one of our top priorities in this chamber and we have kept that promise. And we're going to continue to work in the months and years ahead ... to ensure our courts advance the cause of equal justice under law for every single person in this country."