Washington, D.C. | www.mpac.org | January 19, 2022 — This morning, President Biden nominated who could be the first American Muslim female federal judge, if confirmed. MPAC congratulates Nusrat Jahan Choudhury on her nomination to serve as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. 

Upon confirmation, Choudhury would not only be the second American Muslim Article III federal judge in our nation’s history, but also the first Bengladeshi American confirmed to the federal bench. Mrs. Choudhury joins the ranks of an unprecedentedly diverse cohort of nominees. To date, 80% of President Biden’s nominees have been women, and 65% people of color, a meaningful step toward ensuring a government reflects its people. 

Nusrat Jahan Choudhury has exceptional credentials as the current legal director of the ACLU in Illinois, which follows up her work at the ACLU in New York. She is a graduate of Columbia University, Princeton University, and Yale Law School. Choudhury has also argued many high profile cases, including as a litigator in the 2013 Raza v. City of New York — a lawsuit against the NYPD’s profiling of Muslims.

This nomination begins the process of elevating a qualified and commendable addition to the federal bench. We urge Chairman Richard Durbin and Ranking Member Charles Grassley to expeditiously bring her nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee.