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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Lynn Sweet

Durbin pushing through historic diversity on federal bench

Dick Durbin Joe Biden Senate Judiciary Committee Diversity United States 7th Circuit Barack Obama Donald Trump Ill Mitch McConnell
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has been part of an effort by President Joe Biden to greatly diversify the federal bench. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — With Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wielding the gavel as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Joe Biden outpaced Donald Trump and Barack Obama in confirming federal judges at the midpoint of their respective terms.

The new judges are part of a historic transformation of the federal bench in terms of race, gender, ethnicity and experience, including in federal courtrooms in Chicago. Until Biden, most federal judges were white males, with the door closed to almost all other lawyers.

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