The President, who reportedly is rushing judicial appointments before the U.S. Senate falls into Republican hands, has appointed Frances Tydingco-Gatewood to continue serving as chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Guam.
President-elect Donald Trump, in his final months as the nation’s Forty-fifth President, appointed Superior Court of Guam Judge Maria Cenzon to replace Ms. Tydingco-Gatewood in 2020. The Senate was unable to act before Congress adjourned in January 2021, killing the Cenzon appointment. President Biden took office on January 20 that year but did not make the Guam judicial appointment until today.
It is unclear whether the Senate, which will be under Democratic control until January, will have enough time to confirm her appointment.
Here is the biography the White House provided in its news release announcing the appointment:
Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood has served as a federal district judge on the United States District Court of Guam since 2006. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, she served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Guam from 2002 to 2006 and as a trial judge on the Superior Court of Guam from 1994 to 2002. Before beginning her judicial service, Chief Judge Tydingco-Gatewood served as Chief Prosecutor and Assistant Attorney General in the Guam Attorney General’s Office from 1990 to 1994 and 1984 to 1988, respectively, and Assistant Prosecutor with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office in Missouri from 1989 to 1990. She served as a law clerk to Judge Forest W. Hanna on the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri from 1983 to 1984. Chief Judge Tydingco-Gatewood received her J.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1983 and her B.A. from Marquette University in 1980.
