The Senate is Confirming Federal Judges Faster Than President Biden Can Appoint Them

     Dick Durbin is probably the most important senator that relatively few Americans have heard of. He's the Senate Majority Whip, second in rank only to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. He's the chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, a position President Biden once held, and is the lead sponsor of the Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act. In this latter position, he came to a bit more public attention overseeing the confirmation of America's first black female, fourth sitting female, and first public defender Supreme Court justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

     After hours of debate resulting in a deadlocked vote over Jackson's nomination, the committee moved quickly through a U.S. attorney nominee and five more of President Biden's judicial nominees. They voted to advance the nominations of Stephanie D. Davis to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Robert S. Huie to the District Court for the Southern District of California, Jennifer H. Rearden (in the committee's first unanimous vote this Congress) to the District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Evelyn Padin to the District Court for the District of New Jersey. The committee deadlocked on the nomination of Arianna J. Freeman to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in part because of her work as a public defender and in part because her appointment would change the balance of the Third Circuit from red to purple. 

     There are now 10 judicial nominees awaiting Senate action after having been reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee: David and Andre Mathis to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and Huie, Rearden, Padin, Trina Thompson, Sherilyn Peace Garnett, Nina Morrison, Jennifer L. Rochon, and Sunshine Sykes to various district courts. There are seven judicial nominees awaiting confirmation by the Judiciary Committee, while seven more will need to take the same route Ketanji Brown Jackson took: being taken directly to the Senate floor after a tie vote in committee. These seven are Freeman, Charlotte Sweeney, Hernán D. Vera, Dale Ho, Jessica G.L. Clarke, Kenly Kiya Kato, and William Pocan.

     The Senate has now confirmed 59 of President Biden's 83 judicial nominees, and the Senate is on track to confirm at least 14 more in the next few weeks. With the focus on Jackson's nomination, it has been more than two months since President Biden has nominated any other federal judges. These judges are being confirmed at a record pace, faster than President Biden can appoint them. Trump appointed 85 judges in his first two years as president, and the record is set by Bill Clinton, who had 128 confirmed in his first two years as president. President Biden will have the chance to not only appoint more federal judges than any president in their first two years, but potentially fill up to 156 spots. With Jackson's confirmation out of the way, it is time to appoint more diverse, qualified federal judges.