Adrienne Nelson got a second endorsement from a Senate committee to advance her nomination for a U.S. District Court judgeship.

The 12-10 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday moves President Joe Biden’s appointment to a vote of the full Senate. Nelson was among the 31 nominees for district judgeships and eight for appeals court judgeships on the agenda.

The Senate vote has not been scheduled yet. Democrats hold a 51-49 majority over Republicans, counting two independents who vote with Democrats.

The committee considered Nelson’s nomination on Oct. 12 – no negative statements were filed against her – and voted Dec. 1 to approve her. But Congress ended its session last December without the full Senate voting on the nomination.

A statement afterward from Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, said this:

“There is no doubt that with a wealth of knowledge and commitment to justice for all, Justice Nelson will be an excellent addition to the U.S. District Court.

“Justice Nelson is a highly accomplished and decorated legal mind — including being the first Black woman to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court. We are so proud to see such a qualified and esteemed Oregonian advanced to the full Senate and we will work to get this excellent judge on the federal bench as soon as possible.”

Nelson was a Multnomah County judge before Gov. Kate Brown appointed her to Oregon’s highest court in 2018. Nelson is a resident of Clackamas County.

Assuming that the full Senate votes to confirm her, Nelson would be succeeded on the Oregon Supreme Court by the first appointee of new Gov. Tina Kotek. That person would be up for election to a full six-year term in the statewide primary election on May 21, 2024.

Brown has named all seven justices on the Oregon Supreme Court, including Stephen Bushong and Bronson James, who succeeded justices who retired on Dec. 31.

Nelson would succeed Judge Michael Mosman, a former U.S. attorney for Oregon who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003. Mosman decided at the end of 2021 to take senior status, which enables him to continue to take part in the court’s work but opens up his position to a full-time judge.

In his first two years as president, Biden has appointed a total of 96 judges to the lower courts – 28 to the appeals courts (of a total of 179) and 68 to the district courts (674 total) – plus Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Other recent presidents in their first two years: Donald Trump, 83; Barack Obama, 60; George W. Bush, 99; Bill Clinton, 126.