Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed announced in a joint statement Thursday their endorsement of the nomination of Mary McElroy to U.S. District Court for Rhode Island. McElroy is currently serving as Rhode Island’s public defender, the first woman to hold the position since its creation in 1941.

A graduate from Providence College and Suffolk University School of Law, McElroy worked as a clerk in the attorney general’s office, criminal division and paralegal in civil division. She was clerk to the Honorable Donald F. Shea of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and even had her own private practice. For 12 years she served as assistant public defender in the Office of the Rhode Island Public Defender and another six years as assistant federal public defender in the Office of the Federal Defender for the U.S. District if Rhode Island before becoming Rhode Island’s public defender in 2012.

“Mary McElroy is highly qualified and would serve on the federal bench with distinction.  Mary possesses a strong legal background, a steadfast commitment to justice and the rule of law, and the temperament, professionalism and integrity to serve as a federal judge,” Reed and Whitehouse said in their statement.

The months-long initiative of conducting interviews and going through applications was to fill the vacancy left by Judge Mary M. Lisi, who plans on retiring from “regular active service” as of October 1 this year.

The press release said that although many applicants showed potential, Reed and Whitehouse felt the “depth” of McElroy’s previous experience has made her prepared for this new role.

McElroy, a Warwick native living in Coventry, is the daughter of Edward McElroy, who served as president of the Warwick Teachers Union, the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers, vice president of the AFL-CIO from 2001 to 2008 and president of the American Federation of Teachers from 2004 to 2008.

Senators typically provide recommendations for their home state to the president, who then makes a nomination that must be confirmed by the Senate.

Reed and Whitehouse said, “This is a first step in the confirmation process, and we will support Mary every step along the way. We look forward to working with the president and our colleagues in the Senate to see that this nomination receives fair and expeditious consideration.”