Washington, D.C. – Juwan J. Holmes writes for LGBTQ Nation that just weeks after the first LGBTQ woman was confirmed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, Biden is sending another out woman to join the same bench. The White House announced this week that Biden is nominating Alison Nathan, currently a district judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Second Circuit. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) recommended her, as he did when she was nominated to her current judgeship by President Barack Obama in 2011.

In addition to currently serving on the District Court, Nathan was previously a Special Assistant to President Obama, Associate White House Counsel, and Special Counsel to the Solicitor General of New York. She has clerked in the Supreme Court and taught at Fordham Law School and NYU Law. Nathan is currently garnering attention from tabloid and legal media as she is the judge assigned to the prosecution bought against Ghislaine Maxwell, a known associate of late billionaire and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. She is currently scheduled to oversee Maxwell’s trial, which she set to begin on November 24. This week, she presided over jury selection, and told the court prior to the nomination that she is continuing her duties for now.

“Needless to say, I’m very honored,” Nathan said on Wednesday, but she will “continue to do my day job, which means presiding over this trial until completion and handling the hundreds of other civil and criminal matters on my docket.” Nathan is the partner of NYU Law professor and faculty director Meg Satterthwaite, a former United Nations consultant, and they are parents to twins. Out Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and other members of the LGBTQ Equality Caucus called on the Senate to consider her nomination “quickly.” (LGBTQ Nation – Juwan J. Holmes at https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2021/11/president-biden-nominates-second-woman-federal-appellate-court/?utm_source=LGBTQ+Nation+Subscribers&utm_campaign=79128cefd1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_11_27_06_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c4eab596bd-79128cefd1-433273132)