The U.S. Senate on Monday night voted to confirm the first Asian American judge to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which hears appeal cases from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.
Judge Cindy K. Chung, who was among five nominees tapped by President Biden last summer to fill vacancies in the federal courts, was confirmed with a 50-44 vote on the Senate floor. The vote fell mostly along party lines, with three Republican senators voting yes.
Chung, 47, already has a long resume in the commonwealth’s federal courts, serving as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania since 2021, after seven years as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the same district. Chung also served as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and as an Assistant District Attorney in New York.
Both senators from Pennsylvania hailed the nomination as a historic move. In a statement, Sen. Bob Casey said the confirmation affirms Biden’s vow to diversify the federal courts, and touted Chung’s legal accomplishments.
" Cindy Chung has made history today,” Casey said. “She is a trailblazer in the legal community and I was proud to move her nomination forward and vote to confirm her.”
Following a two-day hospital stay last week, Sen. John Fetterman returned to the floor Monday to cast his vote for Chung as well.
“I was able to speak with Judge Chung as one of my first meetings as a Senator last month, and it was clear from our conversation that she is going to serve the people of Pennsylvania with honor,” Fetterman said in a statement.
The Senate on Monday also voted to advance the nomination of Gina Mendez-Miro to serve as a U.S. district judge in Puerto Rico.
In addition to her groundbreaking status on the Third Circuit, Chung is also only the seventh Asian American woman to serve on any federal circuit court. Chung’s confirmation is also a milestone for Biden, who now has had 100 judicial nominees confirmed by the Senate.
Biden’s other picks for Pennsylvania’s federal courts, including Philadelphia’s former interim District Attorney Kelley B. Hodge, were confirmed by the Senate in December.
Max Marin of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote this story.
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