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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, colleagues, what we have seen happening to the Federal judiciary over the last 9 months is beyond concerning; it is corrupting.

We have seen nominees who are deeply partisan and deeply ideological. We have seen nominees who, under any other administration, would be roundly criticized and rejected by this body. And we have seen nominees whose chief qualification is nothing other than loyalty to and relationship to Donald Trump.

So later today, we are going to consider just the latest example of this when the Senate takes up the nomination of Eric Tung to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

This 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 precedence worthy of the position. But instead, Mr. Tung, the nominee before us, is not here because of his independence or his judicial temperament; he is here because of his ideology.

Mr. Tung embraces an extreme and rigid view of the Constitution that rejects both equality and liberty. He has made it clear that under his constitutional philosophy, there is no protection for rights that most Americans take as fundamental, including the rights to reproductive freedom, marriage equality, and even private consensual relationships. That is not constitutional interpretation; it is a radical blueprint for rolling back decades of progress on individual freedom and equality.

When I gave Mr. Tung an opportunity to explain his history of sexist and anti-labor comments a few months ago in committee, during the confirmation hearing, he deflected. He showed no reflection or evolved thinking, because the truth is Mr. Tung's record and writings reveal a pattern of ideological extremism that calls into question his ability to apply the law fully and fairly.

Now, let me also make it clear that I am not setting out with the goal of denying the Ninth Circuit qualified replacements--far from it. Not just myself, but Senator Schiff, my colleague from California, and I both reached out to the White House months ago to inform them of a couple of things--No. 1, that Eric Tung would be unacceptable.

But, importantly, it is important for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to understand that we signaled a willingness to consider more mainstream Republican candidates whom President Trump had previously nominated for district court judgeships. We were willing to try to find that common ground. But clearly the White House wasn't interested, because whether it is 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.

So today, I will remind my colleagues that when we reference the judiciary, it is the American people's judiciary, and all the decisions we make today will affect our justice system, the people's judiciary, for years, if not decades.

For those reasons, I urge all my colleagues to join me in strongly opposing Mr. Tung's nomination.

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