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Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, the Senate will vote to confirm Eric Tung to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Tung is yet another judicial nominee who has been selected by President Trump for his partisan ideology. Mr. Tung has not received blue slips from his home State Senators, and his record demonstrates why.

At his hearing, Mr. Tung stated that he subscribes to ``originalism.'' Earlier this year, he clarified that this means he does not recognize a constitutional right to abortion, marriage equality, or even private consensual sexual activity, writing: ``Whether there's a constitutional right to abortion, same sex marriage, sodomy, pornography, transgender procedures--the answer for the originalist is simple: No.''

Over the course of his legal career, Mr. Tung has demonstrated his hostility to workers and to voting rights. He has declared his belief in ``gender roles'' and claimed: ``When these radical feminists try to blur gender roles, they undermine institutions like marriage-- institutions which hold society together.'' When I gave him an opportunity to renounce his comments, he sought only to justify his extreme views.

Mr. Tung also has strong ties to rightwing organizations and figures. He has called the president of the far-right Article III Project Mike Davis a friend. At his hearing and in his responses to written questions, Mr. Tung refused to disavow overtly racist and sexist statements by Mr. Davis.

Mr. Tung's record suggests he will continue to place his personal views and President Trump ahead of his commitment to the Constitution.

I will oppose Mr. Tung's nomination. I urge my colleagues to join me.

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