Senate confirms 235th Biden judge, passing Trump in federal judicial appointments

President Joe Biden on Friday beat his predecessor President-elect Donald Trump on federal judge nominations, after the Senate confirmed his 235th nominee just ahead of the holidays. 

The confirmation meant Biden secured one more judge than Trump, who is expected to return to the White House next month. The historic vote is expected to be the last judicial confirmation of the president's term because his last day in office will be Jan. 19. 

Biden has now appointed one Supreme Court justice, 45 appeals court judges, 187 district court judges, and two judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade, according to NBC News. All 235 are lifetime appointments. 

“The majority has now confirmed more judges under President Biden than any majority has confirmed in decades. This is historic,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “We have confirmed more judges than under the Trump administration, more judges than any administration in this century, more judges than any administration going back decades.”

The most notable nomination was Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was nominated by the president in 2022, and sworn in later that year. However, Trump secured three Supreme Court Justices in his first term: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. 

The White House celebrated the milestone in a fact-sheet Friday, which highlighted the diversity of his picks, including Jackson who is the first female black Supreme Court Justice. 

“These men and women have the power to uphold basic rights or to roll them back,” the White House said. “President Biden is proud of his record of appointments and grateful to the Senate for its partnership in reaching this historic achievement.”

The president also noted that Friday's vote marked the "largest number of confirmations in a single term since the 1980s."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.