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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Washington Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca Pennell to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.

Judge Pennell's significant career as a litigator for nearly two decades and her experience as a Washington State appellate court judge will make her an excellent addition to the Federal bench.

After graduating from the University of Washington and Stanford Law School, Judge Pennell served as a law clerk to Judge Robert H. Whaley on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, the court to which she has been nominated.

Following her clerkship, Judge Pennell worked as a Skadden fellow assigned as a fellowship attorney at TeamChild in Yakima, WA. She then continued her career in public service as an attorney at the Federal Defenders of Washington and Idaho for 16 years. As a public defender, she tried approximately 13 trials, handled more than 100 cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and helped to establish two reentry drug courts within the Eastern District.

Since 2016, Judge Pennell has served as a judge on the Washington Court of Appeals, Division Three, where she has authored more than 568 opinions.

Judge Pennell has the strong support of her home State Senators, Mrs. Murray and Ms. Cantwell. In addition, Judge Pennell was rated unanimously ``well qualified'' by the American Bar Association.

I urge my colleagues to support Judge Pennell's nomination.
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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask that we commence with the rollcall vote immediately under unanimous consent.

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