Sharad Harshad Desai Receives Bipartisan Support as Federal Judge in Arizona
Desai becomes the 221st federal judge confirmed by the U.S. Senate during Joe Biden's presidency.
The U.S. Senate today held a recorded vote to confirm one individual as an Article III federal judge. With this confirmation, 221 judges nominated by President Joe Biden have now been confirmed by the Senate. With today’s action, 173 of Biden’s judicial nominees have been approved for service on federal district courts.
In an 82-12 vote, Sharad Harshad Desai was confirmed as a Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona. He is Biden’s third confirmation to the 13-person court, with no additional vacancies at this time. Once commissioned, he will become the youngest judge serving on this court as well as its first South Asian member.
Desai assumes the Phoenix-based seat previously held by G. Murray Snow, who took senior status in October 2024. A nominee of President George W. Bush, Snow served on this court from 2008 to 2024 and was Chief Judge from September 2018 until he left active service. Desai was nominated to this seat on the federal judiciary by Biden in September 2024.
From 2007 to 2015, Desai worked at Osborn Maledon PA in Phoenix - as an associate from 2007 to 2012 and as a member from 2012 to 2015. In 2015, he joined the legal department of Honeywell International Inc. - serving as the company’s Vice President and General Counsel of Integrated Supply Chain, Information Technology, and Global Operations since 2023.
Notably, Desai is the younger brother of Judge Roopali Desai. The older sibling has been a Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since October 2022, also being nominated to the role by Biden. She too was the first South Asian judge to serve on that court.