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Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I urge my colleagues to confirm Judge Kit Dimke for a district court vacancy in the Eastern District of Washington.

To begin, I want to thank President Biden for nominating Judge Dimke for this position at my strong recommendation. At the start of this Congress, there were six Federal district court vacancies in Washington State--six. More than half the Federal bench in Washington State was empty. Those vacancies put a huge strain on our Federal courts, but thanks to the quick work of this Senate with Judge Dimke's confirmation, there will be just two, with another nominee voted out of committee just yesterday.

We have confirmed more than 30 circuit and district judges to lifetime appointments and I could not be prouder that, once we confirm Judge Dimke, four of them will serve Washington State. In this Congress, we have sent a clear message that the judicial system belongs to the American people, and it should work for all of the American people, not just the powerful and well-connected.

We are delivering on that commitment by appointing Federal judges who reflect the diversity of our communities and who bring important professional diversity that has been missing from our courts for too long. Just this Congress, we have confirmed to the Federal bench in my State Lauren King, a respected Tribal law expert and Washington State's first Native American Federal judge; Tana Lin, a civil rights lawyer, the first former public defender, and the first Asian-American Federal judge in my home State; David Estudillo, the son of immigrants, a respected State court judge, and a former immigration attorney. And soon, I hope this Senate will vote to confirm Judge Kit Dimke.

Judge Dimke is currently a Federal magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Washington. She knows the current judges and the lay of the land well, having served in that role since 2016, and is a highly respected judicial colleague. Given her current role, she has meaningful experience in both criminal and civil Federal litigation.

Judge Dimke's entire career has been in public service; she previously worked as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in both the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington. A native of Washington State, she grew up in rural Asotin County as the child of a cattle ranger and lumber mill owner; she knows Eastern Washington. Judge Dimke attended the Running Start program at Walla Walla Community College in high school and went on to obtain her undergraduate degree from Pepperdine University and law degree from Vanderbilt. She is someone with a proven track record who is committed to improving access to the court and will look for ways for the court to work equitably for all participants and for each voice to be heard.

Judge Dimke has already demonstrated that commitment as a magistrate judge, having worked to expand the court's mediation services, improved and diversified the court's indigent defense services, and more quickly resolved one of the top areas of litigation that the Eastern District sees--Social Security disability appeals. She participates in the court's Judicial Institute, volunteering to judge the court's civics competitions for students. And she is actively engaged in the court's external outreach regarding the crisis missing and murdered Native American and Indigenous women, a significant and serious problem facing Tribal communities in Washington State.

Bottom line, Judge Dimke is qualified to become a Federal district court judge and will make an excellent addition to the Federal bench from the Spokane Courthouse. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to confirm her today.

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