Five of the 15 judges on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia were born outside the United States and were appointed by former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden without prior judicial experience. These judges include Tanya Sue Chutkan from Jamaica, Amit P. Mehta from India, Ana Cecilia Reyes from Uruguay, Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali from Canada, and Sparkle Sooknanan from Trinidad and Tobago. Judge Tanya Sue Chutkan is presiding over a legal challenge to the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) efforts to reduce federal spending. Judge Amit P. Mehta is overseeing several January 6 civil cases involving former President Donald Trump. Judge Ana Cecilia Reyes issued an injunction blocking Trump's executive order on gender dysphoria in military service. Judge Amir Hatem Mahdy Ali restored $2 billion in USAID funding previously paused by the Trump administration. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan reinstated a Democrat member to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, maintaining a Democratic majority on the board. The appointments of these foreign-born judges, who have been involved in politically significant cases, mark a shift from earlier practices when all senior judges in the district were U.S.-born.