The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace Amy Coney Barrett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.
Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court in October.
Trump nominated Thomas Kirsch II, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, to fill the vacancy left by the confirmation.
The Senate voted 51–44 to confirm Kirsch. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined Republicans in voting to confirm.
Kirsch was a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP before becoming a U.S. attorney in 2017.
He has also served in various positions in the Department of Justice and clerked for Judge John Daniel Tinder of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
He received his B.A., with highest distinction, from Indiana University and his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Sens. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) previously announced their support of Kirsch.
“Thomas Kirsch has devoted his life to the pursuit of justice. As U.S. Attorney, he fearlessly took on public corruption, gang violence, and terrorist activity, and he served honorably in the U.S. Department of Justice for more than a decade. We fully support Mr. Kirsch’s nomination to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and look forward to a swift confirmation process,” they said in a joint statement in October, after Trump announced his intention of nominating Kirsch.
Kirsch lives in Indiana.
Young said during a hearing last month that during his interview with the judicial nominee, “it was pretty clear to me that this is the type of individual that the people of Indiana wanted in their corner.”
“He’s a man of character, he’s a man of integrity, he believes in the rule of law, and he understands the role of judges is to apply the law and Constitution as written. And of course, is not to legislate from the bench,” Young said.
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