[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Cindy K. Chung

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm 
Cindy Chung to a Pennsylvania seat on the Third Circuit Court of 
Appeals. Ms. Chung has worked in public service for two decades and is 
an accomplished litigator. She received degrees from Yale University 
and Columbia Law School before clerking for Judge Myron Thompson on the 
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
  Ms. Chung began her career as a prosecutor handling public corruption 
and other matters in the New York County District Attorney's Office 
before joining the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, where 
she prosecuted human trafficking and criminal civil rights violations, 
including the first case prosecuted under the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act. She then joined the U.S. Attorney's Office for the 
Western District of Pennsylvania where, for more than 7 years, she 
handled a range of criminal matters. In 2021, President Biden nominated 
Ms. Chung to serve as a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of 
Pennsylvania, and the Senate unanimously confirmed her to that role. As 
U.S. Attorney, Ms. Chung has prioritized the prosecution of hate crimes 
and violent crimes.
  As a practicing attorney, Ms. Chung has appeared in both State and 
Federal court and has tried 24 cases to verdict. She has significant 
experience in the courtroom and was unanimously rated ``well 
qualified'' by the American Bar Association. Ms. Chung has deep ties to 
the Pennsylvania legal community and enjoys bipartisan support, having 
received positive blue slips from her home State Senators for her 
nomination in the 117th Congress, and a bipartisan vote out of 
committee. When confirmed, she will make history as the first AAPI 
judge on the Third Circuit.
  I strongly support her nomination and urge my colleagues to do the 
same.