Biden announces 5 federal judicial nominees and stresses their varied professional backgrounds

By WILL WEISSERT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has announced five nominees to federal judgeships, including the first Muslim-American on any circuit court. The Democratic president wants to add to more than 150 of his judicial selections who’ve already been confirmed. They’re part of the White House’s push to nominate judges from a wide variety of professional backgrounds. The nominations include Service Employees International Union general counsel Nicole Berner for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. If confirmed by the Senate, Berner would be the the first openly LGBTQ judge on the Fourth Circuit. Biden’s nominee for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals would be the first Muslim-American circuit court judge. Biden also nominated judges who’d serve in Indiana and Oregon.