The U.S. Senate has confirmed a Luzerne County man as the newest federal judge for northeast and north-central Pennsylvania.
Senators voted 53 to 39 on Wednesday evening in favor of Joseph F. Saporito Jr. Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman voted yes.
President Joe Biden nominated the 64-year-old Jenkins Township resident to the judgeship in May.
Saporito fills a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The vacancy happened when District Judge Malachy E. Mannion retired from full-time duty and assumed senior status Jan. 3.
Saporito has served as a federal magistrate judge since Feb. 12, 2015, and as the district’s chief magistrate judge since February.
In a statement after the vote, Casey, who introduced Saporito to the Senate Judiciary, praised his former Scranton Preparatory School classmate for his “commitment to fairness and integrity.”