“President Joe Biden announced eight new federal judicial nominations on Wednesday as the White House seeks to maintain its rapid pace of nominations – and confirmations – to the federal bench. The announcement, which marked Biden’s fifth wave of judicial nominees, includes his intent to nominate two circuit court selections and comes as Democrats are pressing to quickly fill openings across the federal judiciary with their slim majority in the US Senate” CNN reports.

“It’s a central priority for Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who has already shepherded seven judicial nominees through to confirmation, including two high-profile circuit court selections in recent weeks. That number is notable for its historical context: It puts Biden on the fastest pace for judicial confirmations in a first presidential term in more than 50 years. The last president to have seven confirmations by this point was Richard Nixon in 1969, according to a White House official. The speed of the effort – and the focus Biden’s team has placed on quickly identifying, naming and sending nominees to Capitol Hill – comes as Dems both inside and outside of government have placed a new emphasis on the issue in the wake of former President Trump’s sweeping effort to confirm more than 230 federal judges during his time in office. Trump’s success marked a cornerstone achievement for then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, and elevated the issue among Democrats, who saw the balance of courts from the Supreme Court down reshaped before Trump’s 2020 election defeat.”