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Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of the great State of California to celebrate several newly confirmed U.S. district court judges.

I am proud to say that just 3 months after I celebrated a confirmation of four highly qualified Federal judges for the State of California, three more have now been confirmed. Today, I hope to share a bit more about each of their stories, the breadth of experience, and their history of dedicated public service.

Early last month, I was proud to see Judge Wesley Hsu confirmed to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Hsu's path to the Federal bench is a story of hard work, remarkable intelligence, and truly a case study in the American dream.

His father fled communist China, traveling 70 miles to the coast with his mother and developmentally disabled brother as a child. Both of Judge Hsu's parents eventually immigrated to the United States to attend graduate school at Kansas State University before moving to California where Judge Hsu grew up.

After earning his undergraduate degree and his JD from Yale, he worked as a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the same court on which he now serves as a judge. He later served for over a decade and a half as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District in the Criminal Division. And from 2017 until just recently, Judge Hsu served as a judge on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, presiding over the Family Law and Criminal Divisions.

I have no doubt that Judge Hsu's strong qualifications and deep experience in the Central District will make him an exemplary district court judge.

That was early last month.

Just yesterday, we confirmed Judge Hernan Vera, another devoted jurist slated to serve on the District Court for the Central District of California. The son of Argentine immigrants, Judge Vera earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his JD from the UCLA School of Law. And since then, he has had a diverse legal career from corporate law to serving 12 years at Public Counsel, our Nation's largest pro bono law firm.

As director and then CEO of the Consumer Law Project, Judge Vera worked tirelessly on behalf of consumers, on behalf of veterans, the elderly, and the working poor. In 2020, Judge Vera was appointed to the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County where he adjudicated child dependency cases. In every respect, Judge Vera stands out in California's legal community. His diverse legal and professional experience makes him a welcome addition to the Central District's bench.

And, finally, earlier this afternoon, just a couple of hours ago, we confirmed Casey Pitts to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Born in Minnesota and raised in Fargo, ND, Pitts attended Yale University and, later, Yale School of Law. After law school, he came out west, and he served as a law clerk on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for Judge Stephen Reinhardt before joining the public interest firm Altshuler Berzon, where he has been ever since.

He has represented workers, consumers, and public interest groups, fighting to protect lives and livelihoods of Americans and helping to shape how and for whom our economy and our courts work.

Casey will be the only LGBTQ article III judge currently serving on the District Court for the Northern District of California. His life experience, his credentials, and his record of fighting for the American people will no doubt make him a phenomenal jurist. And I am proud to see him confirmed, as well.

Mr. President, for the past 2\1/2\ years, Senate Democrats have worked closely with President Biden to nominate and confirm a record number of Federal judges. I have made it a personal priority to try to fulfill the expectations of Americans all over the country who deserve a trusted, highly qualified, and, yes, diverse Federal judiciary. With these three confirmations, we are proving that our judiciary benefits when people from diverse backgrounds are on the Federal bench. Whether the child of immigrants who sought a better life in the United Sates or an LGBTQ kid from Fargo, ND, whether an assistant U.S. attorney or a lawyer defending consumers and veterans, all these backgrounds should be represented in our judiciary.

We can't say this often enough: Our Nation is beautifully diverse, and we are a stronger Nation because of it. And so it should be for our Federal judiciary. So I thank you, colleagues, for confirming these three nominations, and I am so grateful to each and every one of them for their public service on behalf of our Nation.

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