Biden’s First, Mostly Female Court Nominees Would Diversify Federal Judiciary

President Joe Biden launched his effort to reshape the federal judiciary on Tuesday, announcing a diverse slate of judicial nominees with a wide range of experience, including public defenders.

The push comes as Biden seeks to counter the mark on the federal bench left by former President Donald Trump, who had more than 230 mostly conservative judges confirmed during his four years in power. Biden’s picks are also aimed at fulfilling a campaign promise to choose diverse nominees and transform the makeup of the courts.

Biden announced his intent to nominate 11 people to fill federal district and appeals court vacancies, moving quicker than any modern president to put forward a large number of nominees.

The picks included Ketanji Brown Jackson for the powerful U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia, one of three Black women selected to fill appeals court vacancies, and Zahid Quraishi, who would be the first Muslim-American federal judge in U.S. history.

Biden also nominated Florence Pan, who would be the first Asian- American woman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Lydia Griggsby, who would become the first woman of color to serve as a federal judge in Maryland.

In total, Biden chose nine women and two men for his first crop of judicial nominees. The president has faced pressure from liberals to make good on promises to diversify the federal government through his picks for powerful posts.

“This trailblazing slate of nominees draws from the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession,” Biden said in a statement. “Each is deeply qualified and prepared to deliver justice faithfully under our Constitution and impartially to the American people — and together they represent the broad diversity of background, experience and perspective that makes our nation strong.”

Biden sought to get a fast start in his drive to overhaul the federal bench while the Senate is under Democratic control. Tuesday’s slate was the first of a number of batches of judicial nominations the president plans to announce in coming weeks and months, according to a senior administration official.

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