Anthony Trenga

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Anthony John Trenga
	Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
Progress
	Confirmed 71 days after nomination.
	Nominated: July 17, 2008
	ABA Rating: Unanimously Well Qualified
	Questionnaire:
	Hearing: September 23, 2008
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: September 25, 2008
	Confirmed: September 26, 2008
	Vote: Voice vote

Anthony John Trenga is a federal judge on senior status with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He joined the court in 2008 after being nominated by President George W. Bush (R). Trenga assumed senior status on June 1, 2021.^[1]

Trenga is also a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts on May 28, 2020.^[2]

Early life and education

Born in Wilkensburg, Pennsylvania, Trenga graduated from Princeton University with his bachelor's degree in 1971 and from the University of Virginia School of Law with his J.D. in 1974.^[3]

Professional career

2020-Present: Judge, United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
2008-Present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- 2021-Present: Senior judge, Eastern District of Virginia
1998-2008: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
1987-1998: Private practice, Fairfax, Va.
1975-1987: Private practice, Washington, D.C.
1974-1975: Law clerk, Hon. Ted Dalton, United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia^[3]

Judicial career

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (2020-present)

Trenga is a judge on the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. He was appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts on May 28, 2020.^[2]

Eastern District of Virginia (2008-2021)

Trenga was nominated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia by President George W. Bush on July 17, 2008, to a seat vacated by Walter Kelley. The American Bar Association rated Trenga Unanimously Well Qualified for the nomination. Hearings on Trenga's nomination were held before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September 23, 2008, and his nomination was reported by U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on September 25, 2008. Trenga was confirmed on a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on September 26, 2008, and he received his commission on October 14, 2008.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Executive order ruling - March 24, 2017

On March 6, 2017, President Donald Trump issued an executive order, Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States, that rescinded and replaced his January 27 executive order of the same name. The order suspended for 90 days entry into the United States for individuals from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. The order also suspended refugee admissions to the United States for 120 days while the process was reviewed for additional national security measures that could be implemented. The order was set to go into effect on March 16, 2017.

Differences from the January 27 order included removing Iraq from the list of countries subject to the entry suspension, specifying that current visa holders were not affected, removing the indefinite suspension on admitting Syrian refugees, and allowing entry for refugees who had already been granted asylum.

On March 15, 2017, in response to a legal challenge from the state of Hawaii, U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson blocked the implementation of Section 2 and Section 6 of the executive order with a nationwide temporary restraining order.^[6] On March 16, 2017, a federal district judge in Maryland, Theodore Chuang, issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against the order. According to a report in USA Today about Chaung's order, "Like Watson, he determined that Trump's executive order was 'the realization of the long-envisioned Muslim ban' and also pointed to comments made by Trump throughout his campaign. Chuang granted a preliminary injunction on a nationwide basis, but declined to stay the ruling should an emergency appeal be filed."^[7]

On March 24, 2017, Judge Anthony Trenga of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the order was not facially invalid. According to a CNN report, Judge Trenga's ruling said,^[8]

“

This court is no longer faced with a facially discriminatory order coupled with contemporaneous statements suggesting discriminatory intent ... And while the President and his advisers have continued to make statements following the issuance of EO-1 (the first executive order) that have characterized or anticipated the nature of EO-2 (the revised ban) the court cannot conclude for the purposes of the motion that these statements, together with the President's past statements, have effectively disqualified him from exercising his lawful presidential authority. ... The substantive revisions reflected in EO-2 have reduced the probative value of the President's statements to the point that it is no longer likely that plaintiffs can succeed on their claim that the predominate purpose of EO-2 is to discriminate against Muslims based on their religion and that EO-2 is a pretext or a sham for that purpose. ^[9]

”

Judge Watson's and Judge Chuang's orders remained in effect after Judge Trenga's ruling. An appeal of Judge Trenga's ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit was expected.^[10]

See also: Federal policy on immigration, 2017-2020

External links

Footnotes

↑ United states Courts, "Future Judicial Vacancies," accessed May 12, 2021
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, "Current Membership," accessed September 21, 2020
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Judge Anthony John Trenga," accessed May 15, 2017
↑ United States Congress, "PN1884 — Anthony John Trenga — The Judiciary," accessed May 15, 2017
↑ American Bar Association, "Ratings of Article III judicial nominees, 110th Congress," accessed May 15, 2017
↑ CNBC, "US judge in Hawaii grants motion for nationwide temporary restraining order of Trump’s travel ban," March 15, 2017
↑ USA Today, "Trump travel ban dealt another blow by Maryland judge," March 16, 2017
↑ CNN, "Federal judge sides with Trump administration in travel ban case," March 24, 2017
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cnn

Political offices
Preceded by -	United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court 2020-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Walter Kelley	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 2008-2021	Succeeded by Anthony Trenga
Preceded by Walter Kelley	United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia 2008-2021	Succeeded by Michael Nachmanoff