Senate Democrats continue rush of judicial votes with 9th Circuit appointment

(Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Monday signed-off on President Joe Biden's sixth appointment to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, as Democrats speed up the pace of judicial confirmations ahead of the November midterm elections.

The Senate voted 46-40 to elevate U.S. District Judge Salvador Mendoza to the nation's largest federal appeals court, where he will become the first Hispanic judge from Washington state to sit on the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit.

Mendoza, 50, was the first Hispanic to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, which he joined in 2014 after two years as a state court judge. He was earlier a prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer.

He was the third appellate judge confirmed since the Senate returned last week from its August recess, as Democrats prioritize signing off on as many of Biden's appointments as they can before their narrow control of the chamber is put at risk in the Nov. 9 midterms.

The Senate now has confirmed 80 judicial candidates put forward by Biden, who has prioritized diversifying the federal bench. Of his 21 confirmed circuit court nominees, 14 have been women and 16 have been people of color, Democrats say.

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin on Monday called Mendoza "a highly experienced jurist with a life-long commitment to public and community service."

Mendoza did not immediately reply to a message left with his chambers seeking comment.

Final votes have been teed up for two public defenders up for circuit court benches, Arianna Freeman for the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Lara Montecalvo for the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 9th Circuit is the largest of the 13 federal appeals courts, with the most active judges and the task of hearing appeals from the most states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Mendoza, a son of Mexican immigrants, will succeed U.S. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown, an appointee of former Democratic President Bill Clinton who is planning to take senior status, a form of semi-retirement for judges.

With Mendoza, the 9th Circuit will have 16 active judges picked by Democratic presidents and 13 by Republicans, 10 of whom were among the near-record number of judges named by former Republican President Donald Trump.

Read more:

Senate Democrats kick-off post-recess judicial nominee push with first vote

Biden continues crusade to diversify federal judgeships with five new picks

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.