Administration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., 2024

May 22, 2024

Today we reached another milestone in the effort to protect the freedoms and liberties of all Americans: the confirmation of the 200th Federal judge since I took office.

These judges are exceptionally well qualified. They come from every walk of life, and collectively, they form the most diverse group of judicial appointees ever put forward by a President: 64 percent are women, and 62 percent are people of color. 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.

Judges matter. 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 health care 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.

I thank Leader Schumer, Chair Durbin, Democratic Senators, and Republican Senators for their steadfast commitment to advancing these judicial nominations. There is more work to do. Going forward, I will continue my solemn responsibility of nominating individuals who have excelled in their professional careers, who reflect the communities they serve, and who apply the law impartially and without favoritism.

NOTE: The statement referred to Angela Martinez, judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

Categories: Statements by the President : President's judicial nominees, 200th Senate confirmation.

Names: Durbin, Richard J.; Martinez, Angela; Schumer, Charles E.

Subjects: Environmental quality, improvement efforts; Federal court nominations and confirmations; Labor movement and organized labor; Reproductive health care; Senate Judiciary Committee; Senate majority leader; Voting rights, protection efforts.

DCPD Number: DCPD202400446.

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