On Tuesday, the Senate went through a series of federal judge confirmations. Among the judges confirmed were Melissa DuBose and Jasmine Yoon, who will preside over Rhode Island and western Virginia, respectively. The appointments are a recent example of a trend that has emerged under President Joe Biden; one of increased diversity in our nation’s federal courts.

The first of the appointees, Melissa DuBose, has served on the Rhode Island state district court in Providence since 2019. She will become the first black woman, and person of color for that matter, to serve on Rhode Island’s federal trial court. Additionally, DuBose will be the first LGBTQ+ judge to serve on the court. DuBose is one of six federal judges whom President Biden nominated earlier this year in January.

Another one of these six judges is Jasmine Yoon, a two-year serving Vice President of Corporate Integrity, Ethics, and Investigations at Capital One Financial Corporation. As a naturalized citizen originally from South Korea, Yoon is set to become the first Asian American, and person of color, to serve in the federal trial court of the Western District of Virginia

While both judges were narrowly confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday, 51-47 for DuBose and 55-41 for Yoon, the appointments mark yet another step in the much larger trend President Biden has set during his time in office of diversity and representation of all peoples in the nation’s federal courts. Since taking office in 2021, President Biden has appointed a total of 145 judges, including Supreme Court justices, Appeals judges, and District court judges. Of those 145, 96 have been non-white and 95 have been women, lending each category to make up roughly 66% of the total number. In contrast, his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, appointed 153 judges, a mere 22 of which were non-white and an alarming 36 of which were women. In fact, President Biden is the first commander in chief in the nation’s history to achieve 50% in both female and non-white nomination percentages, largely surpassing both thresholds at 66% in each. 

The landmark numbers come in a period of time when diversity and representation are becoming more and more important to Americans and being stressed by all levels of society. Within the government itself, President Biden signed Executive Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government) on his first day in office; the act was meant to encourage the advancement of “equity, civil rights, racial justice, and equal opportunity” within the federal government and its hiring process. Even outside of the government, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in the workplace is becoming increasingly important to Americans; studies have found that a majority of American workers consider focus on DEI to be an important focus for the workplace.

The two judges are expected to take office later this year, solidifying the next step in diversity and representation amongst federal judges, the government, and America as a whole.