President-- And Senator-- Joe Biden's Massive Impact On The Federal Judiciary

     Nobody will ever surpass George Washington's impact on the federal court system. As America's first president, he appointed 39 federal judges, a number that would not be surpassed until the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. However, because he was the first president, these judges represented the entirety of America's federal judiciary, including 11 Supreme Court justices. 

     Other presidents are notable for their impact on the federal courts: as I said, Ulysses Grant; but also Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William Howard Taft, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and, unfortunately, Donald Trump.

     I am grateful that President Biden has recognized how imperative it is that he join these men. His impact on the judiciary, however, goes far beyond his current work as president and his role as vice president under Barack Obama. As a senator, Biden was the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995 and the ranking member from 1981 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 1997. For 16 years, he played a role in confirming federal judges. Under Reagan, 383 judges were confirmed; under George H.W. Bush, 193. Thankfully, of these 576 judges, just 26 are still active today. Under President Clinton, Biden was responsible for securing the confirmation of roughly half of his 378 judicial appointees. Being involved in the confirmation of nearly 750 judges, or almost the entire federal judiciary, is in itself historic. However, over the course of his eight years as chair, President Biden oversaw six Supreme Court confirmations, including some of the most contentious in American history. He first made a name for himself on the national stage when, just months after introducing the first legislation to fight climate change and excoriating Secretary of State George Schultz on Apartheid, he struck down the nomination of Robert Bork, a key player in Watergate with beliefs so extremely conservative even conservatives worried about him. He oversaw the confirmation of Clarence Thomas, which was notable for the Anita Hill allegations, as well as those of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter.

     Now, as president, he has nominated 65 federal judges in his first ten months in office. Meanwhile, there are at least 80 more vacancies that are do not have nominees or will open up by the end of 2022, meaning he should be able to appoint nearly 150 federal judges by January 2023. If Biden can keep the Senate in 2022, he is on track to break a record for the amount of federal judges appointed by any president in a term. If reelected, he is on track to break the record set by Ronald Reagan for the amount of federal judges appointed by any president ever.

     The composition of the courts matters, too. President Biden has appointed a historic number of men and women of color. This includes more Native American judges than any president in history (and, at the current rate, likely more than all prior presidents combined) and the first Muslim man and woman to serve on the federal bench. It also involves increasing the diversity of the bench as a whole: President Biden is on track to ensure equal representation on the courts for black women, AAPI men and women, and Hispanic men. Meanwhile, there remains work to be done ensuring Hispanic women, women as a whole, and LGBTQ Americans receive fair representation on the courts.

     Which is where the higher courts come in. District judges are important, but circuit judges are even more important, and Supreme Court justices are the most important. Donald Trump appointed 54 judges to the appeals courts in the U.S., one less in one term than Obama appointed in two. Using scummy tactics not once but twice, Mitch McConnell helped ensure that he could appoint three justices to the Supreme Court, the most of any president since Reagan. President Biden has appointed 16 appeals court judges in ten months with 17 more vacancies expected in the next year, bringing the total of appointments to appeals courts to 33. Like I said, if Democrats keep the Senate in 2022, Biden can beat out Trump here. 

     President Biden has pledged to appoint the first black woman to the Supreme Court if given the chance: Democrats have already appointed the first black man, first Hispanic woman, and first Jewish man and woman. It's time for Stephen Breyer to retire. Part of the reason that liberals are outnumbered six to three on the Supreme Court is that conservatives strategically retire when Republicans have the White House and the Senate: Sandra Day O'Connor did so just before the 2006 midterm elections and Anthony Kennedy did so in 2018. Ruth Bader Ginsburg refused to retire, and this made Amy Coney Barrett the woman who could serve on the Supreme Court longer than any person in U.S. history in an era when 50 means 30 to 40 years left to live for many Americans and maybe longer for high-profile figures. With all due respect for what Justice Breyer has achieved for Americans and a hope for many happy, healthy years ahead, he is 83 and will be 84 when the current session ends, years older than most American men live to be. He has indicated he may retire in 2022, and I hope he does so. If he does not and a repeat of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Merrick Garland situation happens, Democrats may never be able to appoint a justice to the Supreme Court ever again. His retirement will give President Biden a chance to cement the the minority Democrats have on the Supreme Court for years to come and keep a campaign promise that would make history.

     If something unexpected occurs and a conservative justice leaves the Supreme Court, it should be worth noting that I am asking President Biden to appoint a Hispanic man to the Supreme Court. Appointing a black woman in Stephen Breyer's place would give women a majority on the court for the first time in U.S. history, historic in and of itself. Hispanics are the fastest-growing group in the United States and the most underrepresented in our federal judiciary: appointing a Hispanic man in the event of a second vacancy would help address this issue while also cementing Democrats as the party that appointed the first Jewish, black, and Hispanic men and women to the U.S. Supreme Court. After this, Democrats could focus on prospective AAPI and LGBT2SQIA+ candidates, especially women. 

     When all is said and done, during his nearly 60 years of public service, Senator, Vice President, and President Biden will have been involved with putting enough federal judges on the bench to remake it twice over. For this reason, I think Joe Biden will go down as the most significant figure for America's judiciary since George Washington.