The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed the 100th federal judge appointed by Joe Biden, as the president tries to dilute his influence before Donald Trump on the court.
Under the US Constitution, the president appoints Supreme Court justices and federal judges for life, with the upper chamber of Congress confirming or rejecting the nominees.
In theory, judges are not politically neutral, but their previous legal decisions and the president who appointed them generally shed some light on their beliefs and convictions.
Gina Mendez-Miro, a 49-year-old attorney, became the latest judge confirmed to the US Federal Court for the District of Puerto Rico, following a 54-45 vote Tuesday in the Senate.
Because Democrats have controlled the Senate during Biden’s presidency, they can quickly vet candidates like Mendez-Miro.
In an effort to increase diversity on the court, Biden has fielded candidates from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds: three-quarters have been women and only one-third are white, according to the American Constitution Society.
He also nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court, marking the first time a black woman was named to the bench.
Biden hailed the milestone of 100 confirmed judges as a “significant moment” that highlighted the productivity of his administration.
“We have made important progress to ensure that the federal judiciary not only looks more like the country as a whole, but also includes judges from professional backgrounds historically underrepresented on the bench,” Biden said in a statement.
white people
The diversity push is a complete reversal of Trump’s four-year presidency: Republicans have appointed more than 230 judges to federal courts, three-quarters of whom are men and 85 percent of whom are white.
And his criteria differ from Biden’s: To please his base, Trump has promised to appoint judges who oppose abortion, support the carrying of firearms and defend religious freedom.
The 45th president left a lasting mark on the courts, especially the Supreme Court, where he appointed three of the nine justices, steering the court to the right.
In June, the Supreme Court struck down national rights to abortion, expanded gun rights and limited the government’s ability to fight global warming.
Determined to counter the sudden onslaught of the US judiciary on the far right, Biden is moving forward quickly – with 50 other federal judge nominees awaiting confirmation.
To ensure that replacements are appointed when a Democrat becomes president, some liberal-leaning judges have retired or “taken senior status” — a process by which the seat is vacated and they have the option to handle a lighter caseload.
‘Judicial shopping’
Even if Biden competes with Trump’s move, his appointment will not have the same impact. Trump could replace judges appointed by a Democratic president, changing the court’s political tilt.
Under Trump, three of the 13 influential federal appeals courts flipped to Republican majorities.
Biden is in the process of flipping only one such court.
Trump was able to gain maximum influence with the help of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who laid the groundwork for the effort during the last two years of Barack Obama’s presidency.
After Republicans regained control of the Senate in 2014, McConnell blocked most judges appointed by Democratic presidents, including Supreme Court nominees.
That’s why 100 federal court judges remain open when Trump enters the White House.
Such political games have damaged the court’s image of impartiality and strengthened “judicial shopping,” which refers to strategically filing cases in certain courts that lawyers know will be sympathetic to a particular cause.
Opponents of abortion, for example, recently filed a lawsuit against the abortion pill in Amarillo, Texas, where the only federal judge, a Trump appointee, is known for his ultra-conservative views.