In addition to surpassing Donald Trump’s record for the most federal judge nominations, President Joe Biden has appointed more federal judges of color than any other president.
Benjamin Cheeks, Biden’s judicial nominee for the Southern District of California U.S. District Court, was confirmed by the Senate on Friday. According to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Biden has chosen 63 Black federal judges with Cheeks’ confirmation, the most of any president.
Tiffany Johnson, Biden’s judicial candidate for the Northern District of Georgia, was confirmed by the Senate earlier this month, becoming the 40th Black woman he has nominated to lifetime federal judgeships—more than any other president in a single term.
According to data the White House provided to NBC News, approximately 60% of Biden’s 235 appointees are individuals of color. Last week, Serena Raquel Murillo and Cheeks were confirmed by the Senate.
During his first administration, Trump appointed 234 federal judges.
In an emailed statement, White House communications director Ben LaBolt said that Biden is gratified to have made the judiciary more representative of the nation and that his legacy will continue to influence the judiciary for decades to come.
According to Lena Zwarensteyn, senior director of the fair courts program and an adviser at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, President Biden made it clear to the Senate even before he took office that he wanted to ensure that those who had historically been excluded from our judiciary are included.
The research shows that when you have more judges that have different perspectives because they ve worked on different types of issues or they come from different communities, it improves the decision-making and it certainly improves the trust that communities might have in these institutions. Therefore, it is crucial that we have impartial judges at all levels.
Trump appointed two Black women to the federal bench during his first term, while Barack Obama appointed 26 Black women lifetime judges over his two years.
During his one term, Jimmy Carter appointed 37 Black lifetime judges. During their two terms, Obama and Bill Clinton appointed 62 Black judges apiece. The Leadership Conference says Biden has surpassed their record by one.
These numbers include multiracial judges and account for those appointed to multiple courts under the same president.
Senate Democrats vowed to confirm as many Biden nominees as possible before Trump takes office in January and Republicans take control of the Senate. They ve confirmed dozens since Election Day, but these circuit nomineesare in limbo amid some oppositionfrom Democrats as well as GOP senators.
In November, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in apost on Xthat, This Senate will keep working to confirm more of President Biden s excellent judicial nominees.
In an interview, Marge Baker, executive vice president at People For the American Way, a national progressive organization focused on combating far-right extremism, said it was crucial that the remaining nominees be confirmed.
As pleased as we are with the quality and quantity of nominees that have been confirmed so far, these circuit court nominees are also really, really important, Baker said. The four circuit judges in limbo are Adeel Abdullah Mangi of New Jersey, nominated for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals; Julia M. Lipez of Maine, 1st Circuit; Karla M. Campbell of Tennessee, 6th Circuit; and Ryan Young Park of North Carolina, 4th Circuit.
These courts make decisions that affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people, Baker added. They decide questions about voting rights, about consumer rights, about workers rights, about antitrust laws, about climate change, about abortion. There s just a whole range of issues where these courts of appeals are often the final deciders on.
Biden has long made it his goal while in office to reshape theoverwhelmingly white and malefederal judiciary by appointing judges from various professional and demographic backgrounds. He s managed to do that, confirming record numbers of former public defenders, civil rights lawyers or lawyers representing workers. More than half his appointees have been women, according to the White House, and his appointments include several LGBTQ judges and judges from several racial and ethnic minority groups.
Biden made history by appointing Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. Dozens of his appointments account for various firsts.
Biden has been a leader in terms of appointing Black judges, said Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington-based think tank. The great thing about this is that these appointments will have long-term impacts, at least in terms of representation. This is showing the public that the inclusion of Black judges should be natural, regular.
Now, experts say the stakes are high as these appointments can affect court decisions during Trump s second term.
Elliot Mincberg, a Supreme Court expert and counsel for the People For the American Way, said Biden-appointed judges have had an enormous impact on improving justice for Americans all across the country.
Zwarensteyn called it a tremendous and often not-discussed part of Biden s legacy.
He s really taken it to what I would say is the next level in terms of administrations who have done this.
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