lara e. montecalvo to sit on the first circuit and we will later confirm sarah merriam. that brings our total for the month of september to five circuit court judges and we now have confirmed more than 80 judicial nominees to the federal bench, on numerous occasions, it has been with bipartisan votes, and i thank my republican colleagues who joined us in voting for these fine nominees. so to the judiciary committee, senator durbin, and all of my colleagues, i say great work. let's keep going. i yield the floor and i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: >> yesterday my republican colleagues introduced the ban and made it clear that they're coming after the rights of my constituents and they're coming after the rights of people across the country. this atrocious bill threatens the people of kansas who just voted overwhelmingly to protect abortion rights. it threatens the hundreds of thousands of people in michigan who just signed a petition for a referendum vote to protect abortion. in states like mine

lara e. montecalvo to serve on the first circuit. all together the senate has now confirmed 80 judicial nominees to serve lifetime appointments on the federal bench. i made clear confirming more of president biden's judicial nominees would be a top priority for senate democrats and we're making good on our promise by voting on six circuit court judges in the first two weeks of this work period alone. among the those confirmed, we have the first latino to serve the state of washington, the first black tennesseans to sit on the sixth circuit and the first asian american to sit on the seventh circuit. that is just in the last two weeks. the 80 jurists can include the first native american judge, and the first black woman, of course, in the history of the united states supreme court. i mention these firsts because it takes a lot to be a successful jurist, representing is a key part of the equation. there is a lot of talk about the public's trust in the courts. in my judgment for good reasons. if courts are to endure, to say nothing of th

lara e. montecalvo to be a judge to the united states court of appeals to the first circuit. i look forward to her confirmation today. she will soon fill the seat vacated by judge thompson, an outstanding jurist who i was proud to recommend and who is taking senior status. she will continue to hear cases on a more limited basis along with another distinguished judge from rhode island who has taken senior status an continues to hear cases on the first circuit. these are two outstanding jurists and like judge thompson and judge sellar, judge lara e. montecalvo is also -- i'm pleased that the judiciary committee reported her nomination on a bipartisan vote and i'm grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who voted yesterday to advance her nomination. her resume speaks for herself. she has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to hold up our rights, including the fifth amendment right to due process. she was a gifted student who holds degrees from boston college law school where she graduated magnum cum laude in 2000. she was immediately drawn to public service. she s

lara e. montecalvo, to be united states district judge for the first circuit. >> host: now a senior congressional nbc news, congratulations on the new gig, by the way. >> guest: thank you, appreciate it. >> host: joining us for a look ahead in congress and also a month ahead look, the sprint to the expected break before the midterm elections. and top of the list of legislative priorities is keeping the government open, keeping the government funded. remind viewers where we are on a government funding bill. >> guest: well, as you know, john, funding runs out for the government on september 30th, and so we are weeks away from a potential government shutdown. this time around things look to be a little bit easier than perhaps past moments, but again, it's a difficult time for lawmakers. they are thinking ahead to the election. nobody wants a government shutdown right before the election. but at the same time, you know, these things are never easy. and so there's a number of challenges that sort of lie ahead. and one of the top challenges i would just say is joe manchin was able to get a deal with ch