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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm U.S. Magistrate Judge Melissa Damian to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Judge Damian's deep ties to the Southern District of Florida and her experience in the courtroom, as a litigator and on the bench, have prepared her to serve as a U.S. District Judge.

A graduate of Princeton University and the University of Miami School of Law, Judge Damian clerked for the Hon. Ursula Ungaro on the Southern District before working in private practice. From 1999 to 2010, Judge Damian was an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District, serving in the criminal division, civil division, and appellate division. In 2010, Judge Damian returned to private practice, representing plaintiffs in asbestos and tobacco product liability cases and later focusing on litigating complex business and commercial matters in State and Federal court, at both the trial and appellate levels. Over the course of her legal career, Judge Damian tried more than 30 cases to verdict. Since 2022, Judge Damian has served as a U.S. magistrate judge on the Southern District. She has presided over two trials that went to verdict or final judgment and has issued approximately 170 written opinions and substantive orders.

Judge Damian has the strong support from her home State Senators, Mr. Rubio and Mr. Scott. In addition, she was unanimously rated ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association.

I urge my colleagues to support Judge Damian's nomination.

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