‘A Very Happy Day For America’: Chuck Schumer Touts 200 Judicial Confirmations Under Biden Admin

6 months ago

During a press briefing last week, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) celebrated reaching 200 judicial confirmations.

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Transcript

00:00 Okay, first, I want to thank Chairman Durbin and all, it said he's going first, but he

00:09 said I could go first, so I'm thanking them in advance.

00:14 I want to thank you for your great remarks.

00:16 No, it doesn't say that.

00:17 I want to thank Chair Durbin and all of the Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee.

00:23 They've done amazing work.

00:25 Dick will get into the details, but this is an incredible milestone.

00:28 This is a great day for America because we have expanded the judiciary.

00:34 We have 200 lifetime appointments, and those are people who are going to really bring more

00:44 justice and more diversity and more credibility to the bench.

00:49 So it's a happy day for America, a very happy day for America.

00:53 200 judges confirmed to lifetime appointments under President Biden and this Democratic

00:59 majority.

01:00 200 judges who are restoring balance and excellence to our courts.

01:05 200 judges increasing the diversity and dynamism of our judiciary.

01:11 And 200 judges who are committed to applying the law fairly and partially and equally.

01:18 You know, in the past, most of the people who got on the bench, or all too many, were

01:23 white, male partners of big, fancy law firms.

01:27 That's changed.

01:28 Of these 200 judges, we are so proud.

01:32 Two-thirds are women, 127.

01:35 Two-thirds are people of color, 125.

01:38 Both have been traditionally underrepresented on the bench.

01:44 We're catching up.

01:45 We've got a ways to go.

01:46 Went to bench for too long.

01:48 Didn't look like America.

01:49 It only looked like a portion of America.

01:52 And now we are expanding to realize that all of America should be on the bench with federal

01:59 judges who have such power.

02:01 We're making our courts look more like America, something we can all be proud of.

02:07 Over twice as many women and three times as many people of color confirmed under the last

02:12 administration.

02:14 More black judges, more Latino judges, more Asian-American judges, the first Muslim-American

02:19 man and woman on the bench, the first Navajo federal judge, and of course, the first black

02:24 woman to sit on the United States Supreme Court, Katonji Brown-Jackson.

02:30 And there's not just demographic diversity.

02:33 There's professional diversity.

02:34 As I said, not just partners in big law firms and prosecutors.

02:38 We have public defenders.

02:39 We have legal aid lawyers.

02:41 We have consumer lawyers, immigration lawyers, lawyers who have represented all kinds of

02:47 people who deserve representation on the bench.

02:52 We've confirmed more judges who are committed to preserving voting rights and upholding

02:57 the rights of workers and families and immigrants.

03:00 We have labor lawyers on the bench too.

03:02 In other words, we've confirmed more judges who embody the very ideal of America, a place

03:09 where rule of law is protected, where the rights of all are honored, and where everyone,

03:14 everyone gets a fair shake.

03:19 And I want to take this opportunity just to talk a little about New York, where I'm very

03:23 proud Senator Gillibrand and I have worked so hard together.

03:27 We have confirmed since President Biden took office, the Senate has confirmed 17 well-qualified

03:34 judges to serve on the federal bench.

03:37 Eunice Lee, the second African-American woman ever to serve on the Second Circuit.

03:42 Nusrat Chowdhury, the first Muslim woman and the first Bangladeshi on the federal bench

03:47 ever.

03:48 Allie Nathan, only the second openly LGBT woman to be confirmed on any circuit court

03:54 and just the fourth gay out of the circuit court judge circuit ever.

03:59 Of our 17 judges in New York, 12 are of our 17 judges in New York, 12 are women, 11 are

04:06 judges of color and come from professions previously unrepresented.

04:11 Dale Ho, one of the brilliant voting rights lawyers in America from the ACLU's Voting

04:16 Rights Project.

04:18 Myrna Perez, daughter of Mexican immigrants from the Brennan Center of Justice, the second

04:24 Hispanic woman to serve on the Second Circuit, the first being Judge Sotomayor.

04:31 Nina Morrison, formerly an attorney for the Innocence Project and one of two openly LGBTQ

04:38 district judges in the Eastern District.

04:41 Finally, the people behind me, led by Chair Durbin, represent tremendous, deserve tremendous

04:47 credit.

04:48 You know, the Judiciary Committee is often a contentious committee.

04:52 We got a couple of the people from the other side who always like to pick fights, but these

04:57 folks have been stalwart, stalwart in sitting through them and making sure these judges

05:04 are confirmed.

05:05 The Judiciary Committee has done an amazing, amazing job.

05:08 I salute them and I want to call on their great leader, Chairman Durbin, to say a few

05:13 words.

05:13 [BLANK_AUDIO]

‘A Very Happy Day For America’: Chuck Schumer Touts 200 Judicial Confirmations Under Biden Admin

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