Glenn Grothman says it is 'almost impossible' for straight white men to become federal judges under Biden

WASHINGTON – Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman on Thursday claimed it is "almost impossible" for straight white men to become federal judges as he derided the Biden administration's diversity and inclusion efforts in comments on the House floor.

Grothman in a 26-minute speech railed against President Joe Biden for recent remarks about racism in the United States and claimed affirmative action programs "are designed to be as divisive as possible." He eventually cited an unnamed study that reportedly detailed the administration's federal judicial nominees.

"Apparently, for his first two years, President Biden had appointed 97 federal judges," Grothman said Thursday. "Of the 97 federal judges, I was expecting maybe 25 or 30 were white guys because I know President Biden wasn’t heavy on appointing more white guys. Five of the 97 judges were white guys. Of those, two were gay.”

"So, almost impossible for a white guy who’s not gay, apparently, to get appointed here," he added.

The Glenbeulah Republican's comments came as Congress recessed for Memorial Day weekend amid ongoing debt ceiling negotiations. Grothman in his speech addressed the debt ceiling before turning his attention to Biden's commencement address at Howard University, a prominent historically Black university in Washington, in which Biden acknowledged American history and called racism "a battle that’s never really over."

Grothman, who represents Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District, argued racism is not a problem in the U.S. during his wide-ranging remarks on the topic. He turned his attention to diversity and inclusion and affirmative action efforts and said they cause people to "be a little more reluctant to hire people who have historically been here in America.”

He then pointed to Biden's judicial nominations. The White House did not respond to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel request to comment.

Biden has made nominating diverse judges a priority. Of the judges appointed during Biden's first two years in office, 75% were women, 67% were people of color and 47% were women of color, according to an analysis by the 19th News.

Still, the federal bench is predominately white and men. An August 2022 report from the American Bar Association found that 70% of all sitting Article III judges — those appointed by a president — were male, and 78% were white.

Grothman's comments quickly circulated online Thursday evening and drew criticism from Democrats.

Wisconsin State Sen. La Tonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, who is Black, called Grothman a racist and said the Trump administration "rubber stamped hundreds of unqualified Trump judges to lifetime appointments, who were majority white men."

"First of all I can't believe he said it but the truly saddest part of his comment is that he actually believes it," Johnson told the Journal Sentinel. "Because Biden is a President who believes who believes in Diversity and Inclusion that somehow makes it unfair for white men?"

"The truth is," Johnson added, "Glenn Grothman is a fear-mongering racist, whose comments aren't rooted in reality and his comments prove it."

Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Grothman: 'Almost impossible' for white men to become federal judges