Press Release: Norton Recommendation Ana Reyes Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee for the U.S. District Court for D.C.

News Release — DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton

February 2, 2023

Contact: Sharon Eliza Nichols

If confirmed by the full Senate, Reyes will be the first Hispanic woman and the first openly LGBTQ judge on the U.S. District Court for D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that her recommendation to President Biden, Ana Reyes, was approved for the second time by the Senate Judiciary Committee for the U.S. District Court for D.C. Although Reyes was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in August, renomination and approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee was required because a new Congress convened before Reyes received full Senate confirmation. If confirmed, Reyes will be the first Hispanic woman and first openly LGBTQ person ever to serve on that court. Norton’s first two recommendations to Biden for the same court, Jia Cobb and Florence Pan, were confirmed by the Senate and are serving on the bench.

“Ana Reyes has the intelligence, temperament, and integrity to be an excellent federal judge,” Norton said. “She will also bring much-needed diversity to the federal bench. I look forward to her confirmation and service.”

Reyes, a D.C. resident, is a partner at Williams & Connolly LLP, where she maintains a substantial pro bono practice. She is a graduate of Transylvania University, summa cum laude, Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, where she served on the Harvard Law Review, and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, with distinction, where she received a Master of International Public Policy. She clerked for Judge Amalya Kearse of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and was selected as the 2017 “Woman Lawyer of the Year” by the Women’s Bar Association.

Because D.C. lacks senators to recommend candidates for some positions, Presidents Clinton, Obama, and Biden granted Norton senatorial courtesy to recommend judges for the U.S. District Court for D.C., the U.S. Attorney for D.C., the U.S. Marshal for the D.C. Superior Court, and the U.S. Marshal for the U.S. District Court for D.C. Norton has established a nominating commission, comprised of lawyers and non-lawyers from all eight wards in D.C., to screen applicants and to make recommendations to her for the senatorial courtesy positions.

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