Senate confirms 1st Native American US judge in Washington

SEATTLE (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Seattle attorney Lauren King as the first Native American federal judge in Washington state. King, a pro tem judge for the Northwest Intertribal Court System, also heads the Native American Law Practice Group at the Foster Garvey. She is the second of President Joe Biden’s nominees to be confirmed for the U.S. District Court for western Washington, after former Grant County Superior Court Judge David Estudillo. Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who recommended King, noted that of nearly 900 confirmed federal judges across the country, King, a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, is the fourth who is Native American.