WATCH: Padilla Slams 9th Circuit Nominee Eric Tung for Extreme Ideology, Loyalty to Trump

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, strongly opposed Eric Tung's 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.

Padilla called out Tung's 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 - including those Trump had previously nominated for District Court seats - instead of Tung.

Tung has made a series of reprehensible sexist and anti-labor comments, including criticizing the "dissolution of the family," and saying he believes "in 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 - institutions which hold society together."

Tung also played a leading role organizing anti-labor demonstrations where protesters pushed messages including "end mandatory maternity leave - it hurts women," and "workers of the world, get back to work!" Talking to the Yale campus, Tung said that "unionized labor hurts consumers," while proudly holding a sign that read "Union NO."

Padilla stressed that Tung's extreme ideological record "calls into question his ability to apply the law fully and fairly." As Trump prioritizes unwavering loyalty to the Oval Office over independence and fairness, Padilla strongly­­ urged his colleagues to vote against Tung's confirmation.

Key Excerpts:

• What we've seen happening to the federal judiciary over the last nine months is beyond concerning. It's corrupting. We've seen nominees who are deeply partisan and deeply ideological. We've seen nominees who under any other Administration would be roundly criticized and rejected by this body. ­­­And we've seen nominees whose chief qualification is nothing other than loyalty to and relationship to Donald Trump.

• 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 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's here because of his ideology.

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

• We were willing to try to find that common ground. But clearly, the White House wasn't interested. Because whether it's 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.

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

Video of Senator Padilla's full remarks is available here.

At Tung's nomination hearing in July, Senator Padilla pressed him on his extreme conservative ideology, but Tung dodged Padilla's questioning on his past comments and refused to say when his viewpoints changed on women's role in the workplace.

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