Senate Confirms Trump’s Newest Conservative Judge Pick to 9th Circuit
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Eric Tung — a former clerk to Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and the late Antonin Scalia — to serve on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, marking a significant step in reshaping one of the most historically liberal federal courts.
In a 52-45 vote, the Republican-led Senate approved Tung, a partner at Jones Day, making him the first judge President Donald Trump has appointed to the San Francisco-based appeals court during his second presidential term.
This confirmation adds to the 10 judges Trump appointed to the 9th Circuit during his first administration from 2017 to 2020, shifting the ideological balance of a court long dominated by Democratic appointees. With Tung’s addition, the bench now includes 16 Democratic-appointed judges and 13 Republican-appointed judges.
Tung was nominated in July to replace U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta, who previously announced she would step down once her successor was confirmed.
When President Trump announced Tung’s nomination, he praised him as a “Tough Patriot” who would defend the Rule of Law in what he described as “the most RADICAL, Leftist States” under the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction — including California, Oregon, and Washington.
Tung’s resume includes service as a federal prosecutor and work at the U.S. Department of Justice. He clerked for Gorsuch both on the 10th Circuit and again after Gorsuch joined the Supreme Court in 2017. He also clerked for Justice Scalia prior to Scalia’s passing in 2016.
During the confirmation process, Senate Democrats attempted to portray Tung as an ideological conservative, repeatedly pointing to writings and comments he made in his youth relating to gender roles, same-sex marriage, and transgender medical procedures. They focused heavily on a 2004 essay he wrote for Yale’s student newspaper in which he criticized “radical feminists” for attempting to “blur gender roles” and “undermine institutions like marriage.”
Meanwhile, the government shutdown continues to drag on, now approaching nearly 40 days.
On Wednesday, Democratic leadership in both chambers sent a letter to President Trump following a series of election gains in deep-blue areas, calling for new talks to reopen the government.
“We write to demand a bipartisan meeting of legislative leaders to end the GOP shutdown and decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis,” the letter read. “Democrats stand ready to meet with you anytime, anyplace.”
Despite these public appeals, Senate Democrats have now voted 14 times against GOP-sponsored funding bills that would immediately reopen the government.
According to Axios, negotiators are discussing a three-part framework to potentially resolve the standoff:
• A Senate vote on Affordable Care Act premium tax credits
• A short-term continuing resolution to allow additional time for full-year budget negotiations
• A standalone vote to fund military construction, Congress, and agriculture programs
“I think we’re getting close to an off-ramp here,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
A key unresolved issue is the length of the temporary funding measure. The House had already passed a bill to fund the government through November 21 before Senate Democrats forced the shutdown. Any final Senate deal would require the House to reconvene and approve an extension of that deadline.
At the center of the dispute are the ACA tax credits — the same Democratic demands that remain tied to reopening the government.