Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Committee Hearing on District Court Nominations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations of Loren AliKhan, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia; Susan DeClercq, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan; Julia Munley, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania; and Vernon Oliver, to be United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut.

The hearing continues the Committee’s work filling judicial vacancies with highly qualified, diverse candidates who help ensure the fair and impartial administration of the American justice system.  Under the leadership of Chair Durbin, the Senate has confirmed 130 judges to lifetime appointments on the federal bench during the Biden administration.

Key Durbin quotes on Judge Loren AliKhan, nominated to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, are below:

“Judge AliKhan is a graduate of Bard College at St. Simon’s Rock and the prestigious Georgetown University Law Center.  After law school, she [clerked] on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.  Judge AliKhan served as a Bristow Fellow at the Department of Justice, [and] spent three years in private practice working at O’Melveny & Myers here in D.C.”

“In 2013, Judge AliKhan joined the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia as Deputy Solicitor General.  After serving as the Acting Solicitor General, Judge AliKhan became the District’s Solicitor General in 2018.”

“During her career as a practicing attorney, Judge AliKhan argued in the Supreme Court of the United States, in the U.S. Courts of Appeals 12 times, and in federal district courts six times.”

“In February of 2022, the Senate confirmed Judge AliKhan to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on a bipartisan basis.  She has since shown an evenhanded approach from the bench.”

“I welcome Judge AliKhan and her family, and look forward to her testimony today.”

Video of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s opening statement is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s opening statement is available here for TV Stations.

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