In a victory for progressives, and despite unanimous opposition from Senate Republicans and their Republican-lite ally, West Virginia's endangered Sen. Joe Manchin, the Senate approved two judges to the bench this past week: Dale Ho, an Asian-American voting rights attorney for the ACLU, to the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, and Muslim American ACLU civil rights attorney Nusrat Choudhury to the Federal District Court for Eastern District of New York. Choudhury is the first Muslim woman to be appointed to the Federal court. Both were actively supported by progressive groups during a long stall by Senate Republicans.
In two and a half years in office, as of June 15, President Biden has appointed 134 Federal judges, including one Supreme Court justice, 34 judges for courts of appeal, and 99 judges for district courts. As Republican jurists whittle away at Constitutional rights and defend the lawlessness of their leaders, it's vital for progressive and minority constituencies to be strongly represented on the Federal bench, as Ho and Choudhury will.
(photo: AsAm News)
