Waterbury Superior Court Judge Kari A. Dooley was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut by President Donald Trump Wednesday.

Before her current post, which she has held since 2004, Dooley served for 12 years as an assistant U.S. attorney for Connecticut in Bridgeport. Dooley, a Republican, was appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell in 2004. Her current post on the Superior Court would have expired in 2021.

Dooley, a 54-year-old Newtown resident, was among Trump's ninth wave of judicial nominations. Dooley would replace U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny, who recently took senior status.

Dooley rose through the ranks as an assistant U.S. attorney and eventually became counsel to the U.S. attorney in Connecticut. Dooley began her legal career as an associate in the Greenwich office of Whitman & Ransom. She was with the firm from 1988 until 1992.

Dooley earned her bachelor's degree from Cornell University before attending the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Dooley, who must be confirmed by the Senate, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.