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President Joe Biden will nominate at least three more individuals of Asian descent to the federal bench and tap D.C. Solicitor General Loren AliKhan to serve on the D.C. Court of Appeals, the White House announced Thursday.
The move, part of the administration’s push to bring greater diversity to the judiciary, means that 23% of Biden’s federal nominees to date are Asian American or Pacific Islander (AAPI), a White House official tells The Yappie.
- If confirmed, John Chun—a judge on the Washington Court of Appeals since 2018—would be the first Asian man to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. In February, Chun was part of a three-member Division One Court of Appeals panel that unanimously reinstated a wrongful death lawsuit over a 2016 fatal shooting.
- Jinsook Ohta, whom California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appointed to the San Diego County Superior Court in 2020, would be the first Asian woman judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Ohta, a Democrat, previously worked in the Consumer Protection Section of the California Attorney General’s Office.
- Biden also selected Dale Ho to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ho, the American Civil Liberties Union’s top voting rights lawyer, is well known for leading the challenge against the Trump administration’s controversial 2020 Census citizenship question.
- Loren AliKhan, the daughter of immigrants from Pakistan, has served as D.C. solicitor general since 2018. She currently handles litigation for D.C.’s Attorney General in the appellate courts and would be the D.C. Court of Appeals’ first Asian judge.
The four new nominees will join Biden’s other picks as they move through the tough confirmation process. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, which is the chamber responsible for confirming presidential nominations.
Last week, the Senate voted 68-30 to confirm Florence Y. Pan as U.S District Court judge for D.C., making her the first Asian American woman to serve on the court. Former President Barack Obama had previously tapped her for the D.C. trial court.
The White House is also pushing ahead with the nomination of Lucy Koh, who would be the first Korean American woman to serve on the Ninth Circuit from California. As with Pan, Obama previously nominated Koh to the same court; this time around, she has the support of prominent AAPI lawmakers in California, along with national groups including the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.
Despite Biden’s new slate of nominations, AAPI representation in the federal judiciary remains rare. As of July 2021, just 39 of the nation’s 870 federal judges—roughly 4.4%—are AAPI, according to the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
That could fluctuate if Biden continues with his diversity crusade. Biden is naming court picks at a faster rate than former President Donald Trump, according to a Brookings study.
