US President Donald Trump has sent the nomination of Neomi Rao, a prominent Indian-American attorney and academic, to the Senate to replace Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the powerful D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
If confirmed by the Senate, Rao, who is 45, would be able to serve a lifetime post on the D.C. court, largely considered the second highest court of the land and a training ground for future Supreme Court justices.
If the Senate confirms her, she would be the second Indian-American judge in the D.C. Circuit Court after judge Sree Srinivasan, who was appointed during the previous Obama regime.
Rao's nomination was sent to the Senate on Wednesday.
Trump, during Diwali celebrations on Tuesday at the historic Roosevelt Room of the White House, announced the surprise nomination of the 45-year-old regulatory czar for the DC Circuit.
Trump appeared delighted to jump ahead of Wednesday's planned announcement to nominate Rao, saying it was potentially the "biggest story" of the day.
"We were going to announce that tomorrow," Trump told a crowd of Indian-American members of his administration at the White House. "And I said, you know, 'Here we are, Neomi, we're never going to do better than this.'"
"She's going to be fantastic," Trump added. "Great person."
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