Tell Your Senators to Confirm Judicial Nominees Today!
President Biden has made it a priority to nominate more people to the federal bench from underrepresented backgrounds in terms of race, gender, and professional experience and continues to deliver on this promise. Thus far, 129 exceptional Biden judges have been confirmed, most notably U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. But timely progress has slowed primarily due to politics, and we need your help to keep the pressure on the U.S. Senate.
What is happening with the federal courts and judicial nominees?
Currently, approximately two dozen judicial nominees are awaiting a U.S. Senate vote. Unfortunately, confirmations have slowed since March because Senate Republicans are using every chance they get to prevent the U.S. Senate from fulfilling its obligation to confirm these phenomenal nominees. Furthermore, there are nearly 100 federal judicial vacancies across the country, and we need to fill these positions with qualified and fair-minded justices who reflect the communities they represent.
Why is this important, and why now?
Our federal bench consists of 870 judgeships across 94 federal district courts, 13 federal circuit courts, and the United States Supreme Court. Upon confirmation by the U.S. Senate, each federal judge serves a lifetime appointment, which gives them incredible power to shape the world around us. We are seeing the momentous consequences of this play out in real-time as more decisions are made by right-wing and extremist federal judges – many of whom were appointed by President Trump. Our environmental and public health protections, civil rights, reproductive freedoms, and so much more are immensely shaped by decisions made by federal judges.
Check out our blog post from earlier this year to learn more about the importance of our courts.
What can you do?
Earthjustice Action needs you to call your Senators now and urge them to continue confirming the Biden Administration’s outstanding judicial nominees and to fill every other vacancy on the federal bench. Call the Capitol switchboard at + (202) 224-3121 and ask to be directed to your Senator’s office.
You can look up your Senators here.