The Good & the Bad of Biden’s Nominations: SCOTUS, Federal Judges & Ambassadors

In this episode, Alex starts by going into the recent news that Justice Breyer is going to be retiring from the Supreme Court, and President Biden may finally get the chance to nominate someone to the highest court in the land. Alex argues that Biden’s promise to nominate an African-American woman is a great idea considering the SCOTUS needs a body that represents the American people. One of the front runners for the nomination is Ketanji Brown Jackson, a highly qualified D.C. judge who was unanimously confirmed by the senate. She was also a public defender, which Alex thinks could add a needed perspective to our justice system.

 

Alex then goes into the good and the bad of Biden’s nominations up to this point. President Biden has done a great job of appointing federal appeals judges, yet he has done an atrocious job of getting ambassadors to many key countries confirmed by the senate.  

• Involving the federal judges, Biden has gotten 40 judges confirmed, which is the most at this point in a presidency since Ronald Reagan. He also has gotten more black judges confirmed than ever before and 80% of the appointed judges are women. Alex discusses how this is a lesser-known part of the Biden administration but it is an important one that will leave a legacy long after Biden is out of office. 
• Involving the State Department and ambassadorships, there still is no confirmed envoy to Ukraine and no ambassadors to Berlin, London, and Rome. Also, according to The Economist, there are “no assistant secretaries for the Near East, for international security and non-proliferation, or for arms control. Nor is there a counter-terrorism coordinator or a legal adviser.” Alex mentions that this issue is due to political fighting in the senate, as well as transparency issues between the administration, the State Department, and lawmakers.