WASHINGTON (TIP): On March 20, President Donald J. Trump nominated Indian American Amul R. Thapar of Kentucky for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

If confirmed, Amul R. Thapar of Kentucky will serve as a Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The son of Indian-American immigrants, Judge Thapar serves on the District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. With his 2008 nomination by President George W. Bush and subsequent confirmation and appointment, Judge Thapar became the Nation’s first Article III judge of South Asian descent.

Before his service on the bench, he was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Before that, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Ohio and the District of Columbia. He began his legal career in private practice, after clerkships with Judge S. Arthur Spiegel on the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and then with Judge Nathaniel R. Jones of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Thapar received his BS from Boston College in 1991 and his JD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Welcoming Trump’s decision, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said, “I applaud the President for announcing his intent to nominate my friend, Judge Amul Thapar, to serve on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Throughout his already impressive career of public service, Amul has shown an incredible intellect and an unshakable dedication to the law. He has earned the respect of his colleagues, and I know that he will bring to the Sixth Circuit the same wisdom, fairness, and ability that he has shown on the District Court. President Trump made an outstanding choice and I look forward to the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Thapar.”