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WILKES-BARRE — U.S. Senators Pat Toomey and Bob Casey Monday said they were pleased at President Donald Trump’s intent to announce his nomination of Peter Phipps to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, and Casey, D-Scranton, issued statements lauding the Phipps nomination.
“I am pleased that President Trump will nominate Peter Phipps to serve as a federal judge in Pennsylvania’s Western District,” Toomey said.
Toomey went on to say that in addition to his private sector experience, Phipps has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division in both Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. for the past 14 years. And since 2011, Toomey said Phipps has served as a Senior Trial Counsel for the division.
“I am confident that Mr. Phipps will serve the Western District with fairness and integrity,” Toomey said.
Casey said he, too, was please that the Trump Administration has taken further steps to address the judicial vacancies in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
“Mr. Phipps is an able attorney who has spent the bulk of his career in public service,” Casey said. “I am thankful for his willingness to continue that service on the bench.”
Toomey said since he was elected to the Senate in 2011, he and Casey have worked together, in a bipartisan fashion, to fill vacancies on the federal bench in Pennsylvania. Together, they have vetted, recommended, and confirmed 14 Federal District Court Judges and two Circuit Court Judges for Pennsylvania. Only two states — California and New York — have had more judges confirmed to their federal benches during this time.
About Peter Phipps
Phipps has served as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C since 2003 and has been a Senior Trial Counsel since 2011.
During his time at the U.S. Department of Justice, Phipps has worked in the Federal Programs Branch defending federal statutes, regulations, and programs against legal challenges brought in federal courts throughout the nation.
Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Justice, Phipps worked at the international law firm of Jones Day and clerked for a U.S. federal appeals court judge.
Phipps received his J.D. from Stanford Law in 1998 and his B.S. from the University of Dayton in 1995.
