The Senate considered President Joe Biden’s nomination of Rachel Bloomekatz to serve as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The 6th Circuit is one of the nation’s most powerful courts, with jurisdiction over Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Federal judges serve for life and the laws that protect our environment and democracy need judges who will uphold and enforce them. Bloomekatz has a distinguished record as a public-interest litigator across numerous worthy issues, including First Amendment law, administrative law, voting rights law, immigration law, criminal law, and environmental law. She has won appeals at the 6th Circuit to which she has now been appointed. She is a leader in her local legal community and has taught federal courts to Ohio State University law students. Earlier in her career, Bloomekatz served as a clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer of the United States Supreme Court, to Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, and to Justice Margaret Marshall of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Although her experience spans many issues, Bloomekatz brings the unique qualification of being the first public-interest environmental litigator ever to serve on a federal appeals court. That perspective on a critical and complex area of law has been sorely lacking on the bench. On July 18, the Senate confirmed Bloomekatz to be a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit by a vote of 50-48 (Senate roll call vote 187).