Sonia Sotomayor a Supreme Court seat. New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand wrote a joint letter to Obama urging him to appoint Sotomayor, or alternatively Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, to the Supreme Court if a vacancy should arise during his term.<ref name="Schumer/Gillibrand"></ref> The White House first contacted Sotomayor on April 27, 2009, about the possibility of her nomination. On April 30, 2009, Justice David Souter's retirement plans leaked to the media, and Sotomayor received early attention as a possible nominee for Souter's seat to be vacated in June 2009. On May 25, Obama informed Sotomayor of his choice; she later
Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans are Hispanic and Latino Americans having Asian ancestry and for those Hispanics who consider themselves or were officially classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. government agencies as Asian Americans. Hispanicity, which is independent of race, is the only ethnic category, as opposed to racial category, which is officially unified by the U.S. Census Bureau. The distinction made by government agencies for those within the population of any official race category, including "Asian American", is between those who report Hispanic or Latino