Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate has confirmed an openly gay man to a federal judge’s seat at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Judge Darrin Gayles the first openly gay African American man to be confirmed as a lifetime-appointed federal judge in our nation’s history, according to the White House blog.
The Southern District of Florida includes Fort Pierce, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Key West.
Gayles is one of three June 17 appointments. The Senate also confirmed Judge Salvador Mendoza, the first Hispanic judge to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, and Staci Yandle, appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Yandle is the first African American to serve on her court and the first openly gay lifetime-appointed federal judge in Illinois.
It was the first time in history the Senate confirmed two openly gay judges on the same day.
