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Staying true in promoting diversity among his staff, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of  Staci Michelle Yandle for the district court for the Southern District of Illinois.

If confirmed, Politico.com reports that Yandle would be the first  African-American judge ever on that court as well as the first openly gay judge in the 7th Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

In addition to Yandle, Obama announced Salvador Mendoza, Jr., a county Superior Court judge in Washington state as his pick for the district court for the Eastern District of his state on Thursday. If confirmed, Mendoza would be the first Hispanic judge in that position.

There has never been an African-American male gay judge, but Yandle follows Deborah Batts, an African-American lesbian whom President Bill Clinton nominated to the Southern District of New York.

With Yandle and Mendoza, Politico notes how the White House is hopeful that filibuster rules changes will speed the confirmation process for the pair and two other district court nominees Obama will announced.  The president’s additional picks would be Stephen Bough, a private practice lawyer who’d sit in the Western District of Missouri, and Richard Franklin Boulware II, a public defender who’d sit in the District of Nevada.