First Gay Circuit Court Judge Confirmed

It’s nice they can agree on something. The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Todd Hughes to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, making him the first openly gay person to serve on the nation’s second-highest courts. Hughes is a 19-year veteran of the Justice Department, working as deputy director in the civil rights division since 2007. One down, 13 more of President Obama’s judicial nominees—nine of whom are women and four are African-American—to go. “We look forward to the ‘seconds’ and ‘thirds’ who will come after Todd Hughes and his fellow ‘firsts’ currently serving on our courts,” said White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler.