President Joe Biden nominated
several Black women, an Asian American and the first Muslim ever to federal
judgeships Tuesday in a push for diversity in the US court system.
Breaking with predecessor Donald Trump’s four-year effort to staff federal
courts with largely white male conservatives, Biden unveiled his first 11
picks for judges, with only two of them men, neither of them white.
At the top of his list was nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is
African-American, to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit, which is known to handle major cases.
If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson, 50, would replace Merrick Garland —
who is now Biden’s attorney general — and be in a good position to become a
candidate for the Supreme Court if a vacancy opens up.
No Black woman has yet served on the nine-justice high court.
“Ketanji Jackson Brown is one of the best judges in the nation. Brilliant
and with deep values. That she is now joining our second highest court is
fitting and awesome,” tweeted Neal Katyal, a former acting US solicitor
general at the Department of Justice.
Biden nominated two other African-American women to federal appeals court
vacancies.
Among those chosen for federal district courts, two more were African
Americans (one of them male), two were Asian Americans, one was of Hispanic
origin and two were white women.
Zahid Quraishi, 45, would become the first ever Muslim to serve as a
federal district judge if approved by the Senate.
Quraishi is of Pakistani ancestry and currently serves as a magistrate
judge in New Jersey.
“Judge Quraishi has defended and served our country with distinction in
numerous roles — and will make history if confirmed as the first Muslim
American federal judge,” said New Jersey senator Cory Booker.
The nominations as a whole “represent the broad diversity of background,
experience, and perspective that makes our nation strong,” Biden said in a
statement.
The group is also diverse in its origins, including nominees with
experience as public defenders, who provide free legal counsel to people who
cannot afford it but face civil or criminal charges.
Under the US Constitution, the president nominates people to serve on the
Supreme Court and other federal courts for life, and the Senate votes on
whether to confirm them.
Trump managed to win the appointment of more than 200 conservative judges
during his term, working closely with then-Senate majority leader Mitch
McConnell on an issue that has been dear to US conservatives for decades.
This includes three Supreme Court justices named by Trump.