Senate Confirms Union Attorney to US Appeals Court in Virginia

The Senate confirmed Nicole Berner as a federal appellate judge, elevating a union attorney who has spent her career championing liberal causes.

Berner was confirmed 50-47 on Tuesday to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which covers North and South Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. She will be the first openly LGBTQ judge on the Fourth Circuit.

Berner spent the past seven years as general counsel for the Service Employees International Union, a 2 million-member labor group that represents a variety of service and health care workers.

Her November 2023 nomination by President Joe Biden was ...