A Montgomery County judge is Biden’s latest pick for the federal trial courts in Philly

President Joe Biden has selected a judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas to fill the remaining vacancy without a pending nominee in the Philadelphia region’s federal trial courts.

The White House announced the nomination of Gail A. Weilheimer — a former Abington Township commissioner who has spent just over a decade adjudicating civil and criminal cases at the state level — to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in a statement Wednesday.

If confirmed for the lifetime appointment by the U.S. Senate, she will fill the seat left open by the May death of Judge Gene E.K. Pratter, an appointee of former President George W. Bush.

Weilheimer’s nomination comes as Biden races to cement his imprint on the federal judiciary before the end of his term and to surpass the record of his predecessor, Donald Trump. Administration officials described her and three other federal judicial nominees also announced Wednesday for vacancies in other parts of the country as “extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.”

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) praised Weilheimer’s record as a judge and former prosecutor during a stint earlier in her career working in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

“I am particularly proud of her attention and dedication to helping address the needs of Pennsylvanians dealing with mental health challenges who become involved with the justice system,” he said.

Judges on the U.S. District Courts oversee myriad civil and criminal matters each year and issue the first rulings on significant legal questions that can eventually rise to the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court.

After Trump made judicial appointments a focus — appointing more than 230 district and appellate judges and three Supreme Court justices during his single term in office — Democrats have pushed to leave their own stamp on the federal judiciary, a mark Trump would not be able to erase should he win a second term in November.

But Senate Republicans have exhibited an increasing unwillingness to cooperate with the Biden administration on judicial nominees as the election approaches — most notably with a focused campaign to sink the nomination of New Jersey-based attorney Adeel A. Mangi to the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which handles criminal and civil appeals arising out of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Still, the Senate has confirmed just more than 200 Biden judicial nominees, including nine judges for federal trial and appellate courts in Pennsylvania.

Nominations for five others remain pending, including federal public defender Catherine Henry and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Kay Costello, both of whom Biden nominated for trial court seats in Philadelphia within the last two months.

If the Senate confirms them and Weilheimer, it will leave Biden tied with Barack Obama, as the president who has played the largest role in shaping the current makeup of the Philadelphia region’s U.S. District Court, each with seven appointees serving on the bench. In Biden’s case, all but one have been women.

Trump successfully nominated five judges to the region’s federal trial court. The three others on the 22-member bench — which handles cases that arise from Philadelphia, its suburbs, and outlying counties including Berks, Lancaster, Lehigh and Northampton Counties — were appointed by Bush.

Weilheimer, 54, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on her nomination Wednesday.

A graduate of Hofstra University, she was first elected to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas as a Democrat in 2013 after seven years working at Blue Bell-based law firm Wisler Pearlstine LLP, primarily representing school districts, municipalities and other government entities.

Previously, she worked as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia and an associate at the Philadelphia firm Abrahams, Loewenstein, and Bushman.

Weilheimer has also served as counsel to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s transition team when he was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011.

She resides in Abington with her husband, Larry, a senior vice president and general counsel to The Inquirer.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), who recommended Weilheimer for the post, described her in a statement Wednesday as “a committed public servant with the skill, character, and integrity to serve the people of the Eastern District.”

“I look forward to voting to confirm her swiftly,” he said.