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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, over the past 3 years, something profound has happened on the floor of the U.S. Senate. We have been building one of the most important accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration: the confirmation of highly qualified, independent, evenhanded judges to the Federal bench.

Today, the Senate will confirm the 200th lifetime judge since President Biden took office. This is an extraordinary slate of judges, who are ruling with reason and restraint. These judges respect the rule of law; adhere to precedent; and, above all, answer only to the Constitution.

I have served on the Senate Judiciary Committee for more than two decades, including as chair for the past 3 years. During that time, I have been called on to evaluate and vote on over 1,000 judicial nominees that the committee has considered and have been brought to the Senate floor. In my opinion, the record is clear: President Biden's nominees to the Federal bench represent the best in our judiciary. They are highly qualified. Not a single one of these nominees--these 200-- have failed to be found ``qualified'' or ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association. That is a departure from the previous administration's record.

I have heard some of my Republican colleagues extolling the quality of those nominees in the previous administration as compared to those of President Biden, so I want to set the record straight as clearly as I can. For each judicial nominee that comes before the Senate, the American Bar Association conducts a nonpartisan peer review that ranks their qualifications. The qualifications are based on integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament.

During the Trump administration, Senate Republicans confirmed eight Trump nominees whom the American Bar Association found unqualified to serve on the Federal bench. Compare that to President Biden's record. Under this administration, not one of the 200 judges we have confirmed received an unqualified rating--not one. When there was a suggestion that one might receive that rating and they asked me whether we should move forward, I said: The answer is clearly no.

So when I hear some of my Republican colleagues reminisce about the former President's nominees, I have to wonder: Which ones are they talking about? Are they talking about several nominees who had never tried a case? How about the district court nominee in the previous administration who challenged the legal basis for both surrogacy and in vitro fertilization or the Sixth Circuit nominee who likened abortion to slavery? And who could forget the Ninth Circuit nominee in the previous administration whose colleagues called him ``arrogant, lazy, an ideologue, and lacking in knowledge of the day-to-day practice of law.''

Yet some Republican Senators have relied on increasingly absurd criticisms in an attempt to criticize President Biden's nominees. In a new low, some of my Republican colleagues have gone so far as to falsely claim that a historic nominee, who would be the first Muslim American to serve on the Federal appellate court, is anti-Semitic and anti-law enforcement. As I have said previously, these bigoted attacks are false and should not stand.

Something that stands out about President Biden's nominees, aside from their qualifications and integrity to the rule of law, is the professional and demographic diversity they bring to the bench. We have made history, confirming more Black women to the Federal circuit courts than all prior Presidents combined. Of course, we have confirmed the first ever Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court: Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. And we have confirmed historic numbers of Asian American, Latino, and LGBTQ judges.

As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I want to take a moment to recognize that President Biden has appointed more AAPI judges than any previous President. This includes several ``firsts'' to the Federal bench: the first ever Asian-American judge in the Third and Seventh Circuits, the first South Asian judge on the Ninth Circuit, and the first Asian-American judge in Virginia.

Beyond this demographic diversity, there is recordbreaking professional diversity. In the past 3 years, we have confirmed more public defenders as circuit judges than all prior Presidents combined. In addition, we have confirmed State court judges, Federal magistrates, bankruptcy judges, and prosecutors who have made significant contributions to this country's justice system. We have confirmed jurists with experience protecting the rights of voters, the rights of workers, civil rights, women's rights, and LGBTQ rights.

Another notable aspect of this record is that the vast majority-- nearly 90 percent--of these confirmations have been bipartisan--nearly 90 percent. This includes over three-quarters of the appellate nominees.

In addition, I want to thank a number of my Republican colleagues who have worked in good faith with the White House, with me, and with the committee to fill vacancies in their States. This focus on qualified, consensus nominees will go a long way toward restoring trust and faith in our judiciary.

The American people deserve Federal judges who not only look like America but understand the American experience from every angle. We have accomplished this during the longest evenly divided Senate in history and now with a narrow majority. We celebrate these 200 judges, but we should not stop here. We will continue elevating jurists who are qualified, principled, and committed above all to protecting the Constitution. The American people deserve nothing less.

Mr. President, let me close by saying it has been an honor to serve as chairman of the committee, but our success in bringing these nominees to the floor really belongs to the members of the committee-- 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans. Those Democrats in particular have dutifully come to the committee hearings and to the votes and waited patiently for the opportunity to vote and bring these nominees to the floor. We wouldn't be here without them. I salute them and their dedication to the rule of law and our responsibility on the Judiciary Committee.

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