Biden nominates 2 ex-prosecutors to serve as judges in Eastern District

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday nominated two former federal prosecutors to serve as federal judges for the Eastern District of New York, which covers Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Biden’s nominees are Orelia Merchant, who serves as a top lawyer in the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and Ramon Reyes, who  has been a U.S. magistrate judge for the Eastern District of New York since 2006.

Merchant and Reyes were part of the latest round of federal judicial nominees rolled out by the White House to fill vacancies throughout the country. Both were previously recommended by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who as Senate majority leader will play a key role in pushing for Senate confirmation of the nominees.

Schumer in a statement to Newsday said both nominees "will bring remarkable legal talent and experience to the Eastern District," adding that he "will work to confirm them as soon as possible."

Merchant, a graduate of Tulane University Law School, is the chief deputy attorney general for state counsel for State Attorney General Letitia James. She previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the Eastern District of Louisiana, and served as a regional attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Reyes, a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which includes Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester. He also spent time in the early 1990s as a legislative attorney for the New York City Council and as a private attorney. Reyes previously served as a law clerk for the late Eastern District Judge David G. Trager.

The Eastern District, which has courthouses in Central Islip and Brooklyn, covers federal cases for Long Island, Staten Island, and Brooklyn.

With Democrats in control of the Senate, Biden has appointed more federal judges at this point in his tenure than any other president since John F. Kennedy, according to an analysis published by the Pew Research Center in August. As of Aug. 26, Biden has had 78 of his judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate, according to Pew. Kennedy, the record holder, had 102 by the same point in his presidency.

Schumer is expected to push through more nominees when the Senate reconvenes after the Labor Day recess and as future control of the evenly split Senate comes into question heading into the midterm election season. Asked about his priorities for the month of September, Schumer told reporters at a press briefing last month “one of the important things we have to do is judges.”

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.