At this time of year, it is traditional to celebrate victories and anticipate looming challenges. Let’s start with victories.
A Pew Research Center analysis, released last week, documents President Biden’s success in creating a federal bench that looks more like America. Nearly two-thirds of the federal judges appointed by President Biden are women, and the same share are members of racial or ethnic minority groups.
NEA has singled out several nominees for support using criteria that include personal diversity, professional diversity, and a background in supporting working people. Among them are Nancy Abudu, confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Casey Pitts, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; and Nusrat Choudhury, confirmed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Your advocacy played a vital role in these victories! Please continue to advocate for the appointments of Todd Edelman to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and Mustafa Kasubhai to the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.
As for challenges, one word sums it up: funding. On Jan. 19, funding runs out for 4 agencies and on Feb. 2 for the rest—including education.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy is resigning and leaving Congress at the end of the month. Come the new year, current Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose just three Republican votes on funding or any other bill. The impact of McCarthy’s resignation on Johnson’s approach remains to be seen.
In solidarity,
Marc Egan
Government Relations Director
National Education Association
