First Muslim female federal judge lands Senate confirmation

The Senate confirmed the first Muslim female judge Thursday, helping President Biden fulfill his promise to make the federal bench more diverse.

Nusrat Choudhury was approved 50-49 to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, broke with his party and voted against the nominee.

She has experience as a civil rights attorney, having worked for years with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Progressives praised Ms. Choudhury’s confirmation, saying the president should nominate more individuals like her.

“Nusrat Choudhury is a legal rockstar who has dedicated her career to racial justice. The dream would be to have a federal bench full of judges just like her — those that have advocated for everyday Americans, not just the wealthy and powerful. There are many vacancies left, and we should seize this opportunity to fill them with the best of the best,” said Rakim H.D. Brooks, president of Alliance for Justice.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group, also cheered the appointment.

“We welcome the confirmation of Nusrat Jahan Choudhury as a clear statement that American Muslims are part of the fabric of our society at all levels and that our judiciary is increasingly diverse,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director at CAIR.

Republicans have been critical of the nominee for being anti-police and for saying during an appearance at a university that cops kill unarmed Black men.

“Nusrat Jahan Choudhury has a history of making false, misleading and biased statements against police, demonstrating openly hostile views of law enforcement,” tweeted Rep. Claudia Tenney, New York Republican.

The Biden administration has been vocal about the effort to put minorities on the federal bench.

Mr. Biden promised to nominate a diverse group of judges during his presidency, most notably fulfilling a campaign pledge to nominate the first Black female justice to the Supreme Court, which he did last year with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

According to the Brookings Institution, as of January the president had won confirmation for 28 circuit court nominees, 11 of whom are Black women.