Biden's List Of Judicial Nominees Shows Effort To Shift Bench Leftwards

President Joe Biden has unveiled a list of 11 judicial nominees to the federal bench in what is a clear sign of his administration's desire to promote a diverse but also left-leaning judiciary.

• The most high-profile nomination is that of Ketanji Brown Jackson to succeed now-Attorney General Merrick Garland on the bench of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In total nine women, including three African-American women, one Asian-American woman, and a Muslim woman, were put forward for federal judgeships.
• The Republican Congress during President Trump's term in office proved extremely efficient at getting conservative judges onto the federal bench, something Democrats are keen to mirror but for progressive nominees having lamented what was seen as a slow confirmation process for judges under the Obama administration.
• The make-up of federal benches has major implications for the US political landscape given it is seen as a potential stepping stone to the Supreme Court. With more left-leaning judges on federal benches it widens the pool of potential SCOTUS nominees the next time a vacancy arises.