President Biden reached a milestone on Wednesday in appointing 200 judges to the federal bench, saying he picketed judges “to protect the freedoms and liberties of all Americans.”
He said, “Judges matter.”
The president touted his picks as diverse in race and professional experience, with women accounting for 64% of his judicial appointments and minorities accounting for 62%.
“They come from every walk of life, and collectively, they form the most diverse group of judicial appointees ever put forward by a president,” he said in a statement.
He described his judges as reflective of the American experience and dedicated to core American values:
“Before their appointment to the bench, they worked in every field of law — from labor lawyers fighting for working people to civil rights lawyers fighting to protect the right to vote. And despite differences in background and experience, they are all committed to principles that are at the core of our democracy: independence, freedom, and liberty.”
“These men and women have the power to uphold basic rights or to roll them back. They hear cases that decide whether women have the freedom to make their own reproductive healthcare decisions; whether Americans have the freedom to cast their ballots; whether workers have the freedom to unionize and make a living wage for their families; and whether children have the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water.”
Making the federal judiciary more diverse was part of Mr. Biden’s campaign promise, as he also vowed to appoint the first Black female justice to the high court.
He made good on that promise by the selection of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who replaced retired Justice Stephen G. Breyer in 2022.
By comparison, former President Trump had appointed 194 judges to sit on the Supreme Court, circuit courts and district courts at this same point during his administration.
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