[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 203 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5886]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Judicial Nominations

  Mr. President, now on judges and nominations, today, the Senate will 
confirm the 39th circuit judge under President Biden--Richard Federico 
to be circuit court judge for the Tenth Circuit.
  Mr. Federico is precisely the type of judge we need on our circuit 
courts--a brilliant legal mind who has dedicated his life to service as 
a lawyer in the Navy and as a public defender.
  Thanks to the work of President Biden and the Senate majority, we 
have confirmed more public defenders to circuit courts than under any 
President in history. Of course, we also confirmed the first-ever 
public defender to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, the great Justice 
Ketanji Brown Jackson.
  Now this Senate majority has confirmed over 160 judges to lifetime 
appointments on the bench, including more Black judges, more women 
judges, and more judges of color than the full first term of any other 
President; more women to circuit courts than any President in their 
entire time in office; the first Muslim-American woman on the Federal 
bench; the first Navajo Federal judge; and, of course, as I mentioned, 
the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown 
Jackson.
  All year long, this Senate majority has prioritized confirming judges 
who add to the bench's personal and professional diversity, and we are 
going to continue going into the new year.