ICYMI: President Biden Announces 36th Round of Judicial Nominees; Bringing Total to 180

Yesterday, President Biden announced his intent to nominate two individuals to federal circuit courts and two individuals to federal district courts.

This most recent round of judicial nominees brings the total number of President Biden's federal judicial nominations to 180. To date, thanks to the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) and Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (IL), 140 of President Biden's federal judicial nominees have been confirmed – more than each of the last three presidents up to this point in their presidencies.

The choices announced yesterday and throughout the course of the Biden presidency fulfill the President's promise that the nation's courts reflect the diversity of America – both personally and professionally. If confirmed, Judge Jeffrey Bryan, who currently serves on the Minnesota Court of Appeals, would become the first Hispanic person to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Judge Eumi Lee, who sits on the Superior Court of California in Alameda County, would bring additional AA/NHPI diversity to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. And Judge Joshua P. Kolar and Richard E. N. Federico, nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, respectively, both serve in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

Since President Biden has taken office, 66 percent of all confirmed judicial judges are women and 66 percent are people of color. Additionally, under President Biden there has been a record number of civil rights lawyers and public defenders confirmed to the bench.

CNN: With latest batch of judicial nominees, Biden has put forward 180 people for the federal bench
[Tierney Sneed, 07/27/23]

President Joe Biden unveiled his latest round of judicial nominees Thursday, bringing the number of people he has offered for the federal judiciary to 180 and continuing the White House's emphasis on demographic and professional diversity.

"The President's very top priority is nominating the most diverse and impressive judicial nominees and getting them confirmed," White House chief of staff Jeff Zients said in a statement to CNN that pointed to the recent spree of Senate judicial confirmations that put a labor lawyer, a civil rights attorney and former public defender, and a reproductive rights lawyer on the federal bench.

"Today, the President's nominees include a U.S. Navy Reserve Captain and Navy Reserve Lieutenant Commander, a Korean-American state court judge – and if confirmed – the first Hispanic person to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota," Zients continued.

The Northwest Indiana Times: Hammond-based federal judge to be nominated to U.S. Court of Appeals
[Staff, 07/27/23]

President Joe Biden announced Thursday his intention to nominate Hammond-based federal Magistrate Judge Joshua Kolar to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Kolar has been a magistrate judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana since 2019.

San Francisco Chronicle: Biden nominates Alameda County judge to federal bench
[Bob Egelko, 07/27/23]
Eumi Lee, an Alameda County Superior Court judge since 2018 and the first Korean American to serve on that court, was nominated by President Biden on Thursday to the U.S. District Court in San Francisco.

Star Tribune: Biden names state Appeals Court Judge Jeffrey Bryan to Minnesota's federal bench
[Randy Furst, 07/27/23]

President Joe Biden has nominated state Appeals Court Judge Jeffrey Bryan to become Minnesota's next U.S. district judge, which would make Bryan the first Latino to serve on the federal bench in the state.

Sunflower State Journal: Biden to nominate federal public defender to appeals court bench
[Brad Cooper, 07/27/23]

The president on Thursday morning announced his intent to appoint Rich Federico to a seat on the Denver-based appeals court to fill the seat of Mary Beck Briscoe, who has taken senior status.

Kansas City Star: President Biden nominates a Kansas public defender for federal circuit court judgeship
[Jonathan Shorman, 07/27/23]

The White House announced Thursday that Biden plans to nominate Richard E.N. Federico to join the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which covers Kansas and five other states. Federico joined the Federal Public Defender's Office for the District of Kansas in Topeka in 2017 and has been a senior litigator since 2020.

Senate.gov: Young Statement on Nomination of Judge Joshua P. Kolar to Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals | U.S. Senator Todd Young of
[Staff, 07/27/23]

Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) issued the following statement regarding President Joe Biden's announcement that he is nominating U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Indiana Joshua P. Kolar to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals:

"Judge Kolar has honorably served our nation in uniform, and his legal experience would make him an asset to the Seventh Circuit. I look forward to supporting his nomination once it comes to the Senate floor."