The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed
Todd Gayles to serve as a district court judge in Florida, with no
senators present voting against the nominee.
Gayles becomes the nation's first
openly gay black man to serve on a top-level federal judgeship.
A second nominee, Staci Yandle, also
won approval, thought the vote was split at 52-44.
Yandle, an openly gay black woman, is
set to join a federal district court in Illinois. President Barack
Obama has appointed 112 female federal judges, one more than
President Bill Clinton.
The confirmations also mark the first
time the Senate has confirmed two openly gay judges on the same day.
Torey Carter, managing director at the
Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute, which promotes qualified LGBT
Americans to judicial posts, applauded the confirmations.
“Today will be marked in history as
the day the U.S. Senate confirmed two openly gay judges to the
federal bench in the same day,” Carter said in an emailed
statement. “I congratulate Judge Gayles and Stacie Yandle on this
magnificent accomplishment.”