WASHINGTON — Nearing the end of his tenure, President Joe Biden on Thursday celebrated the Senate’s confirmation of 235 judges during his presidency, eclipsing the total confirmed under his predecessor.
In remarks at the White House alongside Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden hailed the diversity his nominees have brought to the federal bench. Senators confirmed the 235th federal judicial nominee before Congress recessed in December, surpassing by one the number of lifetime appointments by former and incoming President Donald Trump in his first term.
“Judges matter, shaping the everyday lives of Americans, protecting our basic freedoms,” Biden said. “Most importantly — and I never thought I’d be saying this — they’ll uphold the Constitution.”
The Senate confirmed 10 federal judges nominated by Biden in Washington state, concluding with the confirmation of Rebecca Pennell in November as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.