AAPI Victory Fund Statement on the Passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

In response to the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Chairman and Founder Shekar Narasimhan, Vice Chairman and Co-Founder Dilawar Syed and Vice Chairman and Co-Founder Bel Leong-Hong of the AAPI Victory Fund issued the following statement:“We send our deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Justice Scalia. He was a dedicated public servant whose passion and views shaped the nation’s dialogue on some of the most pressing issues of our time, including many under consideration by the Supreme Court in this current term. As President Obama considers the next steps for this seat on our highest court, we are reminded of the President’s outstanding record of appointing highly qualified judges who reflect the diversity of the nation they serve. President Obama has appointed 21 Article III judges of Asian American and Pacific Islander descent, which is more than all prior presidents combined. Four are currently active on the federal appellate bench — Denny Chin of the Second Circuit, Jacqueline Nguyen of the Ninth Circuit, Sri Srinivasan of the D.C. Circuit and Raymond Chen of the Federal Circuit. Another Obama nominee, Goodwin H. Liu, is serving on California’s Supreme Court.The AAPI Victory Fund, which aims to mobilize the political power of the more than 18 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in this country, urges President Obama to build upon the important strides he has made with our community and nominate the nation’s first Asian American or Pacific Islander Supreme Court Justice. AAPIs are the fastest-growing segment of the population, and having our nation’s full rich diversity represented on the Supreme Court would have a profound and positive impact on the future or our country. Leveraging their political power, AAPI voters will remember and stand by the candidates who support their communities and the issues that are important to them.”