Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, right, listens as Sen. Richard Durbin, D-IL, speaks during a news conference following the Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)
WASHINGTON — The Senate returned from August recess this week to a full schedule of judicial confirmations, a priority for both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL).
“For too long, the cupboards of the federal judiciary have long been filled with attorneys who were mostly white, male, and came from Big Law or from prosecutorial backgrounds. That’s why rebalancing our courts with experienced, mainstream, and diverse judicial nominees has been one of my highest priorities as Senate Majority Leader,” said Schumer in a statement to Latino Rebels.
On Tuesday, Durbin took to the Senate floor to tout the number of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees that have been confirmed under Democratic rule.
“As of today, the Senate has confirmed 76 judges to lifetime appointments,” said Durbin. “That figure includes Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson… 18 circuit court nominees; and 57 district court nominees.”
Schumer and Durbin have made a point of confirming President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees of color “from demographically and professionally diverse backgrounds.”
“Of the 18 circuit court judges, 14 are women and 13 are people of color. And of the 57 district judges we’ve confirmed, 42 of the 57 are women and many represent historic firsts, including the first Muslim American article 3 judge to the first Latina article 3 judge in the state of Illinois.”
In less than two years, the current Senate has confirmed more women, people of color, and Latino nominees to lifetime positions on the federal bench than in under four years under Donald Trump, according to statistics from the Federal Judicial Center.
Under Schumer, 47 percent of judges confirmed are women of color, up from 4.8 percent under President Trump; 22 percent are Black women, up from 0.9 percent under President Trump; and 21 percent are Latino, up from five percent under President Trump.
Durbin told Latino Rebels that judicial confirmations will the priority for Democrats in September.
“Senate Democrats will continue working to ensure people from all walks of life have a seat at the table of government,” he said.
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Pablo Manríquez is the Capitol Hill correspondent for Latino Rebels. Twitter: @PabloReports
