Biden Will Nominate Diverse Slate of Federal Judges, Including Three Black Women

President Joe Biden released a statement regarding his plans to nominate 10 “groundbreaking” individuals to serve as Federal Circuit and District Court judges, in addition to one individual who would serve as a Superior Court Judge for the District of Columbia.

“This group also includes groundbreaking nominees, including three African American women chosen for Circuit Court vacancies, as well as candidates who, if confirmed, would be the first Muslim American federal judge in U.S. history, the first AAPI  [Asian American and Pacific Islander] woman to ever serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of D.C., and the first woman of color to ever serve as a federal judge for the District of Maryland,” the statement informed.

In the statement, President Biden was also described as having a career-long commitment to the strength of the federal judiciary. His historically fast pace movement to fill vacancies on the federal bench was mentioned. Judicial nominees must be confirmed by the Senate.

According to Reuters, the Black women nominated for federal circuit court vacancies include: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, JudgeTiffany Cunningham, and Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi. Zahid N. Quraishi, a New Jersey magistrate judge, would be the nation’s first Muslim American to serve on a federal district court. Reuters also reported that the White House said in statement that Judge Florence Pan would be the first Asian-American judge to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The full list of judicial nominees are:

• Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
• Tiffany Cunningham: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Candace Jackson-Akiwumi: Nominee for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• Judge Deborah Boardman: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• Judge Lydia Griggsby: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Maryland
• Julien Neals: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Judge Florence Y. Pan: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
• Judge Zahid N. Quraishi: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
• Regina Rodriguez: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of Colorado
• Margaret Strickland: Nominee for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico
• Judge Rupa Ranga Puttagunta: Nominee for the Superior Court of the District of Columbia