#6: The Makeup of the Federal Judiciary

The Biden Administration has been a very controversial one, but it has also been one of the most diverse and inclusive. It is easy to see regardless of one's political affiliation, the Vice President being the first Black person to hold the office, the first woman to hold the office, and the first Asian-American person to hold the office makes it incredibly clear. Some however, don't agree with the diversifying of the government, specifically targeted diversification. 

One of these people who opposes is Fox News host and political commentator, Tucker Carlson. On his nightly show, Carlson stated that Bidens appointments and picks were 'race based' and illegal. He spoke on how he feels that these appointments show the Biden administration is hiring based off race rather than merit and credibility. He furthered this by stating that the Biden administration looks the least representative of America than any other administration. Tucker supported his claims by citing the fact that out of 97 federal judges Biden confirmed, only 5 were white men (link). 

There were many wrong elements to the statement, but we can begin by looking at the actual makeup of the Federal Judicial Center that Carlson was referring to. There are nearly 800 justices that make up the entire system. Despite white men comprising only 29% of the United States population, they make up 46% of federal judges. Black people overall only hold 13% of those seats, with 6% being black women.

Despite Carlsons claims to his viewers, the Biden administration is the most accurate representation of America in an administration to date. The complete opposite of what he claimed. The Trump administration was 84% white, and 76% men. The Obama administration was 63% white and 58% men (link). The Bush administration was 82% white and 78% men (link).

This is compared to the Biden administration, which has appointed only 25% men, and 31% white. 

Carlson has been called out in the past for promoting the 'Great Replacement Theory' which is a right winged conspiracy that suggests that non-white Americans and immigrants are 'replacing' white Americans and being brought in to increase the Democratic vote. This is unfounded and has led to many mass shootings and violent incidents, including the shooting that took ten lives in Buffalo, NY last year. It appears that there was no fact checking involved in this segment of the show, and that statistics were strewed to further the agenda and opinion of the host and network. This was not representative of what is happening or the truth. Like I have stated in all my other posts, viewers have a right to believe what they want, but they deserve to be informed truthfully so they can create educated opinions and ideas. Misinformation on either side only increases the political divide and polarization we are experiencing in this country. There is space for political commentary in news media, but not commentary that distorts the truth. 

Vox News did a great piece on Bidens appointments. They explained the statistics and the reasoning behind the appointments in an unbiased fashion that presented the reader with accurate information. The post also is edited to reflect any fact checking issues or misinformation that may have been included in the original post. I think that this is a great feature for a news media outlet in order to control the spread of minsinformation.