The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved the nomination of Derrick Kahala Watson as a U.S. District Court judge in Hawaii.

Watson’s nomination as Hawaii’s fourth full-time U.S. district judge now goes before the full Senate for final confirmation.

In voting to advance President Barack Obama’s nomination, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono said, “During his confirmation hearing and our private meeting, Mr. Watson demonstrated that he is highly qualified. If confirmed, he will bring needed diversity to the federal bench as the sole Native Hawaiian currently serving and only the fourth in U.S. history. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I know he will serve our nation with distinction.”

Watson, an assistant U.S. attorney in Hawaii since 2007, was nominated by Obama to the lifetime judge position last year and renominated by the president last month for the new Senate.