Senate panel approves Biden's first slate of judicial nominees

Washington — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved its first group of President Biden's judicial nominees, setting up votes from the full Senate on two of his picks to the federal circuit courts and three to the U.S. district courts.

The panel advanced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the influential U.S. Court of Appeals to the District of Columbia Circuit by a vote of 13 to 9, as well as Candace Jackson-Akiwumi to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by a near party-line vote of 12-10.  The Democratic-led committee also gave bipartisan approval of the nominations of Judge Zahid Quraishi and Julien Neals to the U.S. district court in New Jersey, and Regina Rodriguez to the federal district court in Colorado.