Biden marks 235 judicial confirmations during White House tenure: "Judges matter"
Washington — President Biden on Thursday marked the 235 judicial confirmations he secured during his single term in the White House, a figure that surpasses that of his predecessor, President-elect Donald Trump.
Joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, Mr. Biden delivered remarks from the White House highlighting the judges that he had nominated and the Democrat-led Senate confirmed to the federal bench.
"They represent the best of America," the president said of his nominees.
Mr. Biden underscored how judges shape many aspects of American life, from voting rights to workers rights to environmental rules, and said he is proud of his administration's impact on the federal courts.
"Judges matter, shaping the everyday lives of Americans, protecting our basic freedoms ... defending constitutional liberties, respecting the idea that precedent matters," he said. "These judges will be independent, they'll be fair, and they'll be impartial and respect the rule of law. And most importantly — I never thought I'd be saying this — they'll uphold the Constitution."
The president's judicial record includes one appointment to the Supreme Court, 45 to the federal courts of appeals, 187 to the U.S. district courts and two to the U.S. Court of International Trade.
Mr. Biden's pick of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court was historic, as she is the first Black woman to sit on the nation's highest court.
"The record is clear: the nominees of President Joseph Biden to the federal bench represent the best of the judiciary, the best of America," Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said in brief remarks.
One out of every four judges now on the federal bench were nominated by Mr. Biden, he said.
Schumer called the 235 appointments "historic" and said the president's judicial picks "will be a barrier against attacks on our democratic institutions."
"When people look back at the most consequential accomplishments of the last four years, two things will stand out: the legislation we passed between 2021 and 2022, and the historic judges we confirmed to the bench," the Democratic leader said, adding that Mr. Biden's picks "will be the shield that protects our democracy" and "one of the most important hallmarks of your legacy."
Since the start of his administration in 2021, the president, who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee when he was in the upper chamber, had pledged to diversify the federal bench by appointing judges from varying professional and personal backgrounds. Mr. Biden's judicial nominees included more than 45 public defenders, including Jackson, and 25 civil rights attorneys.
In addition to tapping the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, Mr. Biden also named more Black women to the federal courts of appeals than every previous presidential administration combined, according to the White House.
The 235 judicial confirmations marks the largest number in a four-year term since the late President Jimmy Carter was in office and surpasses Trump's appointments to the federal bench by one. Carter did not appoint any justices to the Supreme Court, but selected a record 262 judges to the federal courts after Congress in 1978 passed legislation creating 35 new appeals court judgeships and 117 district court seats.
Trump, though, named three justices to the Supreme Court, cementing a 6-3 conservative majority, and 54 judges to the federal appeals courts.
The 13 courts of appeals hear more than 40,000 cases annually and typically issue the final decision in a legal dispute given that the Supreme Court hears fewer than 100 cases each year.
