Opinion | Sen. Durbin: As Biden’s term ends, Senate Democrats must confirm more judges

After I became chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee in February 2021, I noted that this moment in history demanded much of the committee — and that included the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees.

And so, we went to work.

To date, Senate Democrats have confirmed 221 judges to lifetime positions on the federal judiciary under the Biden-Harris administration. These 221 confirmations highlight Democrats’ work filling judicial vacancies with highly qualified, diverse candidates who help ensure the fair and impartial administration of the American justice system. Notably, Democrats accomplished this feat in part during the longest 50-50 split in Senate history, followed by our soon-to-end narrow majority.

In comparison to other presidents’ entire terms, this Senate has confirmed more women of color to the bench and more Black women to judgeships than any other president. We have confirmed more Black women to circuit court judgeships than all other presidents combined. 

Under the Biden administration, we’ve also confirmed more people of color to circuit court judgeships, more former public defenders to circuit court judgeships, and more LGBTQ+ individuals to the bench than any other president.

These historic confirmations include Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman and former public defender confirmed to the Supreme Court; the first Muslim American man and woman on the federal bench; the first out lesbian to serve on any federal circuit court; the first Latina to serve on the Fifth Circuit; the first Hispanic judges to serve on the D.C. and Seventh Circuits; the first Asian American to serve on the Seventh Circuit; the first Navajo federal judge; and half of all Native judges ever confirmed.

But this is about more than just statistics. These judges are already protecting the rights of all Americans from the bench. Below are just a few examples. 

District Court Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby blocked the implementation of newly drawn Baltimore County Council districts, finding that the new map disadvantaged Black voters and thereby violated the Voting Rights Act.  

Seventh Circuit Judge Doris Pryor cast the deciding vote in 2023 as part of a 2-1 decision finding that a lower court erred in tossing out a sex trafficking victim’s lawsuit against Salesforce, the software company that hosted a website on which she was trafficked. A Trump-appointed judge wrote a dissenting opinion.

And District Court Judge Cristina Silva threw out a challenge to Nevada’s Election Worker Protection Act, a bipartisan law that criminalizes attempts to intimidate, threaten, coerce or harm election workers.

But our work is not done. As I write this, there are 16 nominees currently pending on the Senate floor — four circuit nominees and 12 district nominees. There are several more pending in committee, including two nominees who had their hearing last week and who are expected to be advanced after the Thanksgiving recess and ultimately confirmed. 

Today, there is no time to waste. The Senate must finish its incredibly important mission and confirm these highly qualified, diverse nominees before the sun sets on the 118th Congress.