President Joe Biden 'making a whole new mold' with 100th judge confirmation: report

14 February 2023

The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden's 100th appointed judge, surpassing his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, NBC reports.

Two Biden-appointed judges were confirmed week, according to The Washington Post. Cindy Chung was chosen to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as the first Asian American to step into the role, and Gina Méndez-Miró — the president's 100th successful nominee — will serve as a district court judge in Puerto Rico.

Per NBC, the confirmations are a feat for both Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who "have made it a priority to reshape U.S. courts with judges who tend to be younger, liberal and more diverse."

The Post reports Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) noted the "Democrats' efforts to 'bring balance to the courts' one of their successes."

He said, "This exceeds the pace of confirmations in the Trump and Obama Administrations. Equally as important as the numbers, we are seeing diverse nominees confirmed — in both their professional and demographic backgrounds."

Former Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), according to The Post, asserted "the Senate was moving 'well ahead of Trump’s pace,'" mentioning "Trump did not hit his 100th confirmed judge until May 2019, his third year in office."

However, Feingold also noted, "This is the opposite of the moment to slow down. If you rest on your laurels, you’re going to end up way behind," Feingold said. "It’s a situation where it’s terrible to blow a lead. You don’t want to be the Philadelphia Eagles here. It’s literally halftime."

Former Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain told NBC, "Appointing 100 judges has already had a major impact on the judiciary — and it puts President Biden on track to name a transformational 200 judges before the end of this term."

He continued, "Just as important as the quantity of judges is their quality, professional background and diversity. President Biden’s history-making contribution to judicial appointments isn’t just ‘breaking the mold’ of prior federal judicial picks — it’s making a whole new one."

NBC reports:

Confirming judges requires a simple majority in the Senate. Many of Biden’s judges have received some Republican support. Plenty of others have passed with only Democratic votes, earning no support from GOP senators who prefer judges with a narrower and “textualist” view of constitutional interpretation.

Conservative Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, a member of the Judiciary Committee, recognized his Democratic colleagues' ability to agree on Biden's nominees.

"The Democrats on the Judiciary Committee — I’m gonna give them credit, not a single one of them has broken with this administration on a single judge. And it’s extraordinary," he said. "Schumer and Durbin have done this to great effect. They have made the conveyor belt on judges move, and of course, I lament that."

NBC's full report is available at this link. The Washington Post's is here (subscription required).

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