In 2023, President Biden made historic strides in diversifying the federal courts, appointing individuals from varied backgrounds, including the Navajo Nation, Bangladeshi American and Muslim woman, and those with strong civil rights backgrounds.
Despite facing challenges, Biden has confirmed 166 judges, with a focus on diversity and professional experience.
Notably, he appointed the first Black woman and public defender to the Supreme Court. (Trending: Democrat Targets U.S. Troops With New Gun Control Law)
Jake Faleschini, the director of justice programs at Alliance for Justice, said, “If they do that, they’ll finish up stronger than the Trump administration.”
“Trump got 234 judges. If Democrats keep going, and at the pace of the last three years, they can outpace that,” he explained.
Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, said, “Biden’s greatest 2023 accomplishments were continuing to nominate and confirm unprecedented numbers of candidates who are diverse in terms of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ideology and experience.”
Faleschini commented, “The quality of the nominees in 2023 really stands out.”
“We got so many of these folks through who had been waiting for the first two years of the administration. They finally got through last summer. Just very, very high-quality nominees,” added the Alliance for Justice’s director.
While Biden’s pace lags behind his predecessor, efforts are underway to expedite confirmations and fill remaining vacancies, with a focus on Southern and Midwestern states.
Lena Zwarensteyn, a senior director of the Fair Courts Program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said, “This legal experience is underrepresented in our judiciary, and it matters.“
“Judges rule on issues related to health care, voting rights and so much more that impacts our daily lives, so it is especially meaningful to see brilliant civil rights lawyers ascend to the bench directly from our nation’s civil and human rights and public interest organizations,” she explained.
“By my count, there were 16 such retirement-eligible Democratic appointees at the start of the year, and 15 now,” said Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow with the Brookings Institution’s governance studies program and president of the Governance Institute.
“Barring some major upheaval in 2024, there’s no way Biden can match Trump’s four-year total of 54 court of appeals appointees,” he continued.
“I am slightly disappointed,” said Wheeler. “But given the quality of the nominees, it’s forgivable.”
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