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U.S. Senate confirms two more of President Biden’s judicial picks, the fastest confirmation rate since Nixon

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The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed two more of President Joe Biden’s judicial picks in the biggest week yet for his nominees winning approval, as Democrats race to maintain their narrow control of the chamber.

The Senate voted 52-46 to make Sarala Vidya Nagala the first federal judge of South Asian descent in Connecticut and 52-46 to elevate Michael Nachmanoff, a magistrate judge and former public defender, to become a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia. The votes came after the Senate earlier this week voted to confirm four other judicial nominees, including voting rights advocate Myrna Pérez to serve on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the most in a single week during Biden’s term.

The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jia Cobb, Karen McGlashan Williams and Patricia Tolliver Giles to district court judgeships in Washington, D.C., New Jersey and the Eastern District of Virginia, respectively. A seventh nominee, Connecticut federal district court pick Omar Williams, is expected to receive a vote on Thursday, after the Senate on Wednesday voted 52-46 to cut off debate on his nomination.

The Senate has now voted to confirm 25 of Biden’s 51 district and circuit court picks, a rate not seen since the Nixon administration. Republican President Donald Trump by this point in his tenure had only won confirmation for seven judges, according to data collected by Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. The Democrats’ goal is to counter the influence of Trump’s near-record 234 confirmed judicial nominees [Reuters].

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE

PHOTO CREDITS: NEWSWEEK

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