Conservative Attorney Eric Tung Heads for 9th circuit Confirmation

He’s never held public office or served as a judge, but an arch-conservative Los Angeles County attorney is moving toward confirmation on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, accelerating the once-liberal court’s shift to the right under President Trump.

A competitive target shooter with a background in cryptocurrency, Eric Tung was contacted by the White House Counsel’s Office on March 28 to replace Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta, a Bush appointee and one of the court’s most prominent conservatives, who is taking senior status.

A new father and relatively unknown in national legal circles, Tung found an ally in Mike Davis, a well-known figure in Trump’s network of judicial advisors.Speaking to the New York Post in mid-march, Davis indicated Tung was likely to succeed Ikuta.

The Pasadena lawyer appeared on a Federalist Society panel at the reagan Library this year, discussing legal efforts to limit the actions of those considered “agents of the left.”

“Eric is a Tough Patriot, who will uphold the Rule of Law in the most RADICAL, Leftist States like California, Oregon, and Washington,” Trump wrote on Truth Social when the nomination was announced in July.

California senators strongly opposed the nomination.

“Mr. Tung believes in a view of the Constitution that rejects equality and liberty, and that would reverse progress and continue to deny equal justice under the law to many Americans,” said Sen. Alex Padilla.

Traditionally, senators from a potential judge’s home state could block a nomination-a practice Trump bypassed when he secured the confirmation of Eric D. Miller to the 9th Circuit in 2019 despite opposition from Washington senators.

Tung has not publicly commented on his nomination. He did not respond to inquiries from The times.

A Woodland Hills native and conservative catholic convert, Tung gained recognition as a supporter of the cryptocurrency industry and a skilled legal writer, frequently lecturing at California law schools and speaking at Federalist Society events.

After graduating from Yale and the University of Chicago Law School, he clerked for Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and neil Gorsuch before joining the law firm Jones Day, which has frequently enough provided personnel to the Trump Justice Department.

the nomination received praise from some, including the National Asian Pacific American Bar Assn.

“Eric is a highly regarded originalist who would…”