Senate confirms Biden's first judge

Washington — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Biden's first nominee to the federal bench, approving with bipartisan support Julien Neals for the U.S. district court in New Jersey.

Neals was confirmed 66 to 33, with only Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont not voting. Included among the first slate of judicial nominees announced by the White House in late March, Neals' nomination received the backing of five Republicans, as well as all Democrats, on the Senate Judiciary Committee last month. Neals will join the federal bench after serving as county counsel and acting county administrator for Bergen County, New Jersey. He served in numerous positions in Newark city government, including as chief judge of the Newark Municipal Court. He was nominated to the district court in New Jersey by then-President Obama in 2015, but his nomination stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.