{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/watch-padilla-slams-9th-circuit-nominee-eric-tung-for-extreme-ideology-loyalty-to-trump/", "WATCH: Padilla Slams 9th Circuit Nominee Eric Tung for Extreme Ideology, Loyalty to Trump", "2025-11-05", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Alex Padilla", "P000145", "www.padilla.senate.gov", "padilla", "https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, strongly opposed Eric Tung\u2019s nomination ahead of his confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, headquartered in San Francisco, denouncing his extreme conservative ideology and derogatory comments toward women and organized labor. Tung was confirmed to the lifetime position by a vote of 52-45.\n\nPadilla called out Tung\u2019s nomination as part of a broader pattern in which President Trump prioritizes partisan loyalty and extreme conservative ideology over independence and judicial temperament. He emphasized that he and Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) had told the White House months earlier that they were willing to work together to identify less extreme Republican candidates \u2014 including those Trump had previously nominated for District Court seats \u2014 instead of Tung.\n\nTung has made a series of reprehensible sexist and anti-labor comments, including criticizing the \u201cdissolution of the family,\u201d and saying he believes \u201cin gender roles and that women are simply better than men at some things. When these radical feminists try to blur gender roles, they undermine institutions like marriage \u2014 institutions which hold society together.\u201d\n\nTung also played a leading role organizing anti-labor demonstrations where protesters pushed messages including \u201cend mandatory maternity leave \u2014 it hurts women,\u201d and \u201cworkers of the world, get back to work!\u201d Talking to the Yale campus, Tung said that \u201cunionized labor hurts consumers,\u201d while proudly holding a sign that read \u201cUnion NO.\u201d\n\nPadilla stressed that Tung\u2019s extreme ideological record \u201ccalls into question his ability to apply the law fully and fairly.\u201d As Trump prioritizes unwavering loyalty to the Oval Office over independence and fairness, Padilla strongly\u00ad\u00ad urged his colleagues to vote against Tung\u2019s confirmation.\n\nKey Excerpts:\n\nWhat we\u2019ve seen happening to the federal judiciary over the last nine months is beyond concerning. It\u2019s corrupting. We\u2019ve seen nominees who are deeply partisan and deeply ideological. We\u2019ve seen nominees who under any other Administration would be roundly criticized and rejected by this body. \u00ad\u00ad\u00adAnd we\u2019ve seen nominees whose chief qualification is nothing other than loyalty to and relationship to Donald Trump.\n\nThis is a lifetime appointment to the federal bench, colleagues. An appellate court nominee in particular should have the judgment, the independence, and the respect for precedent worthy of the position. But instead, Mr. Tung, the nominee before us, is not here because of his independence or his judicial temperament. He\u2019s here because of his ideology.\n\nMr. Tung embraces an extreme and rigid view of the Constitution that rejects both equality and liberty. He\u2019s made clear that, under his constitutional philosophy, there\u2019s no protection for rights that most Americans take as fundamental, including the rights to reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and even private, consensual relationships. That\u2019s not constitutional interpretation. It\u2019s a radical blueprint for rolling back decades of progress on individual freedom and equality.\n\nWe were willing to try to find that common ground. But clearly, the White House wasn\u2019t interested. Because whether it\u2019s the Department of Justice, the FBI, U.S. Attorneys, or the federal bench, the Trump White House is showing us what they truly care about: unwavering loyalty.\n\nI\u2019ll remind my colleagues that when we reference the judiciary, it\u2019s the American people\u2019s judiciary. And all the decisions that we make today will affect our justice system \u2014 the people\u2019s judiciary \u2014 for years if not decades.\n\nVideo of Senator Padilla\u2019s full remarks is available here.\n\nAt Tung\u2019s nomination hearing in July, Senator Padilla pressed him on his extreme conservative ideology, but Tung dodged Padilla\u2019s questioning on his past comments and refused to say when his viewpoints changed on women\u2019s role in the workplace.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/watch-padilla-slams-9th-circuit-nominee-eric-tung-for-extreme-ideology-loyalty-to-trump/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.5608758442103863, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}