One of President Joe Biden’s priorities during his last weeks in office has been appointing federal judges. Biden and Senate Democrats are attempting to match the number of judges appointed under the previous Trump administration and counterbalance the conservatives that President-elect Donald Trump will nominate during his upcoming term with these lifetime appointments. Along the way, Biden has solidified several records set during his administration, which has done more than any single presidential term to diversify the judiciary in multiple ways.
Biden appoints 40 Black women judges
Throughout his term, Biden made it a priority to appoint Black women — a woefully underrepresented demographic — to the federal bench. Biden made good on his promise. In 2022, the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson after being nominated by Biden and became the first Black woman ever appointed to the Supreme Court. In addition to Jackson, Biden has appointed 39 other Black women to lifetime positions across the federal judiciary, including various district and appeals courts. Judge Tiffany Johnson was recently confirmed for the Northern District of Georgia. Before Biden, only 63 Black women had been confirmed to lifetime judicial appointments.
Record-breaking term for Black appointees
These 40 Black women make up most of the 62 Black judges Biden has appointed to lifetime federal appointments. This number eclipses the previous record for most Black lifetime judges appointed in a single term set by former President Jimmy Carter, who appointed 37 Black judges to lifetime roles. Biden’s number also ties the overall record; former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama each appointed 62 Black judges to lifetime positions, but they did so across two terms in office. Biden still has a chance to break that record if the Senate confirms Benjamin Cheeks, one of the last Biden nominees remaining, before the end of the term. In addition to promoting racial diversity on the bench, Biden’s appointments have also been professionally diverse, with about 40% of the Black judges he’s appointed having backgrounds that include civil or human rights advocacy or time as public defenders.
Diversifying the judiciary before Trump’s next term
Overall, Biden has followed through on his commitment to diversity in the judiciary. Including the Black judges appointed under his administration, Biden is on track to have appointed the most people of color of any president, constituting around 60% of his total appointments, according to figures shared with NBC News. Additionally, more than half of Biden’s judicial appointees have been women. In contrast, Trump only appointed two Black women as lifetime judges during his first term in office.
Diversifying the federal judiciary may be one of Biden’s lasting legacies. With Trump’s previous track record of judicial nominations and lack of diversity in cabinet nominations, whatever diversity remains within the federal judiciary over the next few years will primarily result from the Biden administration.
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