The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden’s first judicial nominee, as Democrats aim to roll back former President Donald Trump’s gains in the judiciary.
The Senate voted 66-33 to confirm Julien Neals, whom Biden had nominated for the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Neals is one of 20 nominees whom the president has put forward since taking office. This week, the Senate will vote on several other picks.
BIDEN NOMINATES 20TH JUDGE SINCE TAKING OFFICE
In the debate beforehand, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Neals is the first in a line of candidates whom Democrats hope will “restore the balance to the federal judiciary.” Schumer accused Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of using the Senate as a “conveyor belt” to push through judges who would support their agenda.
Schumer said one of his goals is to roll back Trump’s significant influence on the judicial branch.
“Under this Democratic majority, the Senate will swiftly and consistently confirm President Biden’s appointments to the bench, bringing balance, experience, and diversity back to the judiciary,” Schumer said.
All of Biden’s picks so far have placed heavy emphasis on both racial and experiential diversity. The Biden administration claims that the president has been the fastest executive to nominate candidates for federal judicial vacancies.
Since Biden took office, several federal judges have also retired, leaving a total of 85 vacancies by early June. At the same time, Democratic activists have been pushing Justice Stephen Breyer to retire from the Supreme Court. The justice, who is 82, has not announced his plans.
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The favorite to replace Breyer is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, whom Biden appointed earlier this year to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is often viewed as a stepping stone to the Supreme Court. Jackson is awaiting consideration from the full Senate.
Other Democrats have also been pushing for other ways to lessen Trump’s judicial influence, including through court expansion. Biden commissioned a group of legal experts to study the issue.
