Biden secures landmark 100th judge, outpacing Trump
“Appointing 100 judges has already had a major impact on the judiciary — and it puts President Biden on track to name a transformational 200 judges before the end of this term,” Ron Klain, Biden’s former chief of staff, who departed last week, told NBC News. “Just as important as the quantity of judges is their quality, professional background and diversity. President Biden’s history-making contribution to judicial appointments isn’t just ‘breaking the mold’ of prior federal judicial picks — it’s making a whole new one.”
Biden and Democrats are outpacing former President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Senate — at this juncture, Trump had secured 85 judges. He left office with a staggering 234 new judges, the most of any president in his first four years since Jimmy Carter, thrilling the right and leaving an indelible mark on the courts with young conservative judges poised to serve for generations.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a conservative who sits on the Judiciary Committee, grudgingly credited Democrats for sticking together on Biden-picked judges, even in the 50-50 Senate of the last two years.
“The Democrats on the Judiciary Committee — I’m going to give them credit, not a single one of them has broken with this administration on a single judge. And it’s extraordinary,” he said. “Schumer and Durbin have done this to great effect. They have made the conveyor belt on judges move, and of course, I lament that.”