Nusrat Jahan Choudhury (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Nusrat Choudhury was confirmed Thursday as a federal judge by the U.S. Senate, making history as the first Muslim woman and the first Bangladeshi American to join the federal judicial bench.
The vote in the Democrat-led Senate narrowly passed along party lines.
President Joe Biden nominated the civil rights attorney in January 2022, along with seven other federal judicial nominees, who, the White House said, “continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s court reflects the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a court – both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.”
Zahid Quraishi, district judge for the District of New Jersey and the first Muslim American federal judge in U.S. history, was also appointed by Biden and confirmed in 2021.
Choudhury will join the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
She currently serves as a legal director for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, where she has pushed for police reform with a focus on litigating discriminatory practices.
Choudhury is only the country’s second Muslim American federal judge—following Quraishi’s confirmation.