The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of Judge J. Michelle Childs for the influential federal appeals court in Washington, in a bipartisan 17-5 vote that sets up a later final confirmation vote on the Senate floor.
Childs, who was widely discussed as one of several Black women judges on a shortlist for President Joe Biden’s first nomination to the Supreme Court, had the backing of all Democrats and most Republicans on the panel for a spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Nominees for the D.C. Circuit often attract controversy during the confirmation process because the court handles cases of national sweep on environmental, labor, immigration and other policy issues.
