President Joe Biden notched his 100th judicial nominee confirmation on Tuesday, surpassing his two immediate predecessors, as he continues to mold the judiciary.
By this time, former President Donald Trump clinched 85 confirmed judges, while former President Barack Obama was at 67, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Trump and Obama both picked out two Supreme Court nominees by this point, eclipsing Biden's one nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson.
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On Tuesday, the Democratic-controlled Senate greenlighted Gina Mendez-Miro to serve as U.S. district judge for the District of Puerto Rico. Mendez-Miro made history as the first openly LGBTQ judge on that court. Both Biden and Schumer celebrated the milestone while underscoring how many women and minorities they elevated to the courts.
"Today, because of the work done by this majority, our federal judiciary is far more balanced, far more diverse, far more experienced than the one we had just two years ago. And it’s something every American can be proud of," Schumer proclaimed on the Senate floor Tuesday.
"This Senate has confirmed more judges by this point in a president’s term than either of the previous two administrations," he added. "Of the 100 judges, 76 are women. Seventy-six! Today only about one-third of active federal judges are women, so this is a sorely needed step in the right direction."
Thus far, Biden has notched 30 circuit judges, 69 district judges, and one Supreme Court justice, according to Senate Democrats. Of the judges that have gotten approval, 76 are women and 68 are minorities, including 33 black and 21 Hispanic nominees.
Biden hailed the development as progress and emphasized that he "appointed more federal circuit judges with experience as public defenders than all prior presidents combined."
"We have made important progress in ensuring that the federal judiciary not only looks more like the nation as a whole, but also includes judges from professional backgrounds that have been historically underrepresented on the bench," Biden said in a statement.
Schumer also commended Democrats and even some of the Republicans who helped them achieve the feat. He also underscored that "we’ll keep going."
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Trump frequently bragged about his progress on the judiciary during his presidency, and some conservative observers shared some of the credit with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as well. McConnell lamented the Democrats' progress in the judiciary.
"Democrats are not particularly impressed or moved by top-shelf professional excellence or the academic brilliance that the last Republican administration's nominees possessed literally in spades. And apparently, they don't count those qualities as particularly high priorities now that they are the ones doing the nominating," McConnell said last month.