SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — President Donald Trump announced Monday that he plans to nominate U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Thapar previously became the first federal district judge of South Asian descent when the U.S Senate confirmed him in late 2007. He received his law degree from UC Berkeley and served as the chief federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Kentucky before taking the district bench. He also served as a prosecutor in Southern Ohio and worked in private practice.
The Senate will be required to confirm Thapar to the appellate bench, but with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as a strong supporter, observers said that won’t be a problem.
“Throughout his already impressive career of public service, Amul has shown an incredible intellect and an unshakable dedication to the law,” McConnell said in the release. “He has earned the respect of his colleagues, and I know that he will bring to the Sixth Circuit the same wisdom, fairness, and ability that he has shown on the District Court. President Trump made an outstanding choice and I look forward to the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Thapar.”
Before his swearing-in as the 45th president, Donald Trump had floated Thapar’s name on his shortlist of Supreme Court nominees, but chose Neil Gorsuch instead.
“Judge Thapar is a respected and thoughtful jurist who has long served as role model for the South Asian and greater legal community,” said Vichal Kumar, president of the South Asian Bar Association, in a press release. “Despite being among the youngest judges in the federal judiciary, Judge Thapar quickly established a reputation as a top legal scholar among his peers.”
Thapar is a conservative. He is seen as close to the Federalist Society, which promotes interpreting laws and the Constitution as written.
His father, Raj Thapar, who owns a business in Ohio, told The Courier-Journal in December that his son “nearly wouldn’t speak to me after I voted for Barack Obama.”
