Senate confirms appointment of new federal judge for Arizona

The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Donald Trump’s appointment of a lawyer who formerly was Gov. Doug Ducey’s top staff attorney to be a U.S. District Court judge for Arizona.

The Senate’s 53-37 vote Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Michael Liburdi of Scottsdale to fill a vacancy.

Liburdi served as Ducey’s general counsel during Ducey’s first term and he currently is a shareholder with the Phoenix office of the firm of Greenberg Traurig.

Arizona’s two senators — Republican Senator Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema — supported the appointment, which was announced in January.