As a former chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, strengthening the federal judiciary with extraordinarily qualified judges who are devoted to our Constitution and the rule of law has been among my proudest work in office.
I’m especially proud that the nominees I have put forward—and the Senate has confirmed—represent the diversity that is one of our best assets as a nation, and that our shared work has broken so many barriers in just 2 years.
Yesterday, for example, the Senate confirmed Cindy Chung to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; in addition to previously serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, she will be the first AA and NHPI judge to serve on this circuit court. Today, the Senate confirmed Judge Gina Mendez-Miro, who currently serves on the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals, to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico; she will be the first openly LGBTQI+ judge to serve on that court.
We have made important progress in ensuring that the federal judiciary not only looks more like the nation as a whole, but also includes judges from professional backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented on the bench. To that end, I have appointed more federal circuit judges with experience as public defenders than all prior presidents combined. Seventy-six percent of the Article III judges confirmed during my Administration have been women, and 68% have been people of color. I was proud to nominate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, and I am also proud to have confirmed 12 Black women to serve on federal circuit courts—more than all other Presidents combined.
Since long before the inauguration, I directed my team to make judicial confirmations a leading priority of this administration, and they acted quickly to begin consultations with Senators from both parties about how we could be as productive as possible. And we certainly have been productive.
This is a profound moment, and I want to thank Leader Schumer, Chair Durbin, and Senators on both sides of the aisle for working in good faith to reach this milestone for our country.
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