President Trump eyes new chance to put mark on long-liberal 9th Circuit

A new vacancy on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is giving President Trump a new opportunity to alter the DNA of the once-famously liberal court.

Judge Carlos Bea is intending to take a step back and claim senior status on the Ninth Circuit, opening up a spot for a new full-time active judge. One possibility for the position is Patrick Bumatay, currently a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of California.

According to the National Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA), Bumatay would be the first Filipino-American on a federal appellate court, and the second openly gay circuit court judge. In a statement, NFALA said they sent a letter to the White House encouraging President Trump to choose him

The sprawling Ninth Circuit — which includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands — has long been a focus of Trump’s. The president has railed against the court in the past for ruling against him in key cases. The court put Trump’s travel ban on hold in a ruling that was then overturned by the Supreme Court, and also ruled against the administration’s efforts to block California sanctuary laws.