More Asian Americans may hold important positions within the American federal government soon.
Today, the Senate confirmed Jennifer Sung as a judge for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Reuters reports. President Joe Biden also nominated Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan to serve as ambassador to Belize, CNN reports.
The Senate narrowly confirmed Sung in a 50-49 vote, according to Reuters.
Sung is a former union labor organizer and lawyer. She received her law degree from Yale Law School in 2004. After graduation, she served as a law clerk to Judge Betty Binns Fletcher of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 2004 to 2005. Now she will be a judge on that same court.
Sung’s confirmation faced stiff opposition from Republicans for criticizing U.S. Supreme Court judge Brett Kavanaugh but ultimately went through.
Kwan will have to wait for her ambassadorship to be confirmed by the Senate. The Olympic medal-winner worked on Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
“If confirmed, I will be very proud to serve my country,” Kwan said, according to CNN. “Belize is full of incredible history and culture, and has been a tremendous partner to the United States. I look forward to working with the Belizean government on economic issues, to put an end to this pandemic, and to address the root causes of migration.”
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