Durbin: We Must Confirm Every Possible Federal Judge In The Lame Duck Session
During his speech, Durbin also highlighted the highly qualified, diverse judges that have been confirmed during the Biden Administration
WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged his colleagues to confirm every pending judicial nominee before the end of the 118th Congress. Thanks to Durbin, Leader Schumer, and the Biden-Harris Administration, Senate Democrats have confirmed 214 judges to lifetime positions on the federal judiciary in the last four years. Right now, there are 16 nominees pending on the Senate floor—four circuit nominees and 12 district nominees.
Durbin began his speech by highlighting the fact that the vast majority—nearly 90 percent—of these confirmations have been bipartisan. This includes more than three-quarters of appellate nominees.
Durbin said, “It’s been an honor to serve as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee for [the last] four years. We had a big job. The biggest assignment was filling judicial vacancies. As of this moment, we have filled 214 federal vacancies. When you take a look at the situation in the Senate during this period of time, it was a 50-50 split in the membership of the Senate for two years. And [we had] a very small majority in the other two years and yet, we were able to get this job done.”
During his remarks, Durbin highlighted the historic, well-qualified, and diverse backgrounds of President Biden’s judicial nominees.
Durbin continued, “President Biden’s nominees represent some of the best I’ve ever seen. For each judicial nominee, we require the American Bar Association to [conduct] an interview of their peers in the community. I’m happy to report that every single nominee from the Biden-Harris administration was considered ‘qualified’ if not ‘well-qualified’ by the ABA review.”
Durbin continued, “We have confirmed more Black women to the federal circuit courts than all prior Presidents combined. We confirmed the first-ever Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson—a point of personal privilege and pride for me.”
Beyond demographic diversity, Durbin also highlighted the professional diversity of these judicial nominees. In the past four years, the Senate has confirmed more former public defenders as circuit judges than all prior Presidents combined. The Senate has confirmed state court judges, federal magistrates, bankruptcy judges, and prosecutors who have made significant contributions to this country’s justice system. The Senate has also confirmed jurists with experience protecting the rights of voters, the rights of workers, civil rights, women’s rights, and LGBTQ rights.
Durbin concluded his speech by calling on his colleagues to confirm all remaining nominees during this lame duck session and before President-elect Trump is sworn in.
Durbin concluded, “There’s work to be done before we can leave here at the end of the year… There are 16 nominees pending on the Senate floor—four circuit nominees and 12 district nominees. There are several more pending in committee, including two nominees who will have their hearing before Thanksgiving. There is no time to waste. The Senate must confirm every one of these highly qualified, diverse nominees before the sun sets on the 118th Congress. The American people deserve nothing less.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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