Trump nominates another Asian American lawyer for appellate bench

President Donald Trump has nominated Eric Tung, a Jones Day partner based in Los Angeles, for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, becoming his seventh AAPI appellate appointee if confirmed.

Tung, a former federal prosecutor and ex-Justice Department Office of Legal Policy counsel, is expected to fill a position on the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit. He previously served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016.

In announcing the pick, Trump called him “a Tough Patriot, who will uphold the Rule of Law in the most RADICAL, Leftist States like California, Oregon and Washington.” The nomination represents Trump’s 14th judicial pick in his second term, including four for appeals courts.

Though Trump named fewer minorities to the federal bench overall compared to his predecessors, he has significantly increased Asian American representation. By the end of his first term, he had nominated six — Amul Thapar, James Ho, Neomi Rao, Michael Park, Kenneth Lee and Patrick Bumatay — of the 11 active circuit judges who identified as Asian American or Pacific Islander.

Should Tung be confirmed, most of Trump’s AAPI appellate picks would serve in circuits that include states with large Asian American populations, including California, New York and Texas. His immediate Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, made no Asian American or Pacific Islander appointments to lifetime appellate positions.

A government watchdog group has raised concerns about Tung’s extensive work for cryptocurrency companies and potential conflicts of interest. Accountable.US reports that he has represented numerous crypto firms seeking to avoid government regulation, including work for a stablecoin provider and the Blockchain Association. With Trump’s crypto holdings valued at roughly $2.9 billion — nearly 40% of his total wealth — critics contend the nomination could financially benefit the Trump family.

Tung’s nomination now heads to the Senate for confirmation proceedings.