| President Donald Trump reshaped the federal judiciary at a staggering rate thanks to laser-focused Senate Republicans who oversaw the confirmation of three Supreme Court justices, 54 circuit judges and more than 170 district judges.
The 45th president's success in securing lifetime appointments for right-leaning jurists owes much to the shrewd politicking from GOP Senate leaders, who have fast-tracked the president's nominees to the chagrin of Democrats.
was to confirm "as many circuit judges as fast as we could." Indeed, appellate nominees have moved through the confirmation much faster than trial-court picks in Trump's first years: 156 days compared to 270 days. McConnell
the pace would continue through 2020 and extend to the district courts: "We're not going to leave a single vacancy behind by the end of next year."
Some tactics that have rankled the minority include holding confirmation hearings for more than one appellate nominee at a time, advancing nominees without approval from both home-state senators and ending the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees. McConnell has defended his expeditious approach: "Advice and consent means whatever the majority at any given moment thinks it means."
Getting Trump picks confirmed hasn't always been smooth, and several nominees with controversial records have been
. That fate nearly befell the president's second Supreme Court nominee, now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh, after late-breaking allegations of sexual misconduct in the 1980s — but a few moderate senators pushed his nomination over the line.
. This interactive tracker shows the status for each vacancy and each nominee.
Here's a profile of Trump's appointments to the federal appellate courts around the country, followed by a listing of his nominees to district courts.
U.S. SUPREME COURT
Amy Coney Barrett
Age: 48
Law School: Notre Dame Law School
Formerly: Judge,
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Nominated: Sept. 26, 2020
Confirmed: Oct. 26, 2020
Justice Barrett succeeded the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose death 46 days before Election Day allowed Senate Republicans to give Trump a third appointment and cement a conservative majority on the high court. After three years on the Seventh Circuit, the former constitutional law professor saw a
deeply partisan confirmation vote the week before the election.
Brett Kavanaugh
Age: 53
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: Judge, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
Nominated: July 9, 2018
Confirmed: Oct. 6, 2018
Justice Kavanaugh, Trump's second high court appointment, was confirmed by the narrowest margin in the last century after late-breaking allegations of decades-old sexual misconduct against the nominee created a political firestorm. The episode drew many comparisons to Justice Clarence Thomas' fraught confirmation 26 years prior.
The selection of then-Judge Gorsuch to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was one of Trump's first acts as president and may prove one of his most consequential. Justice Gorsuch's April confirmation capped a yearlong saga that included President Barack Obama's failed nomination of Judge Merrick Garland and a Senate rule change by Republicans forcing through Trump's pick.
D.C. CIRCUIT
Gregory Katsas
Age: 53
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Deputy counsel to President Trump; partner,
Jones Day
Confirmed: Nov. 28, 2017
The veteran Washington litigator replaced retired D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown on what's often called the country's second most powerful court. Katsas gained prominence arguing high-profile appeals as a partner at Jones Day, including the
first challenge to the Affordable Care Act at the Supreme Court. His former role as White House deputy counsel
raised concerns about his ability to fairly review administrative policy — a regular part of the D.C. Circuit's specialized docket.
Neomi Rao
Age: 45
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Confirmed: March 13, 2019
Trump chose the lawyer overseeing his administration's regulatory rollback to replace Justice Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit. Neomi Rao, a conservative academic with developed views on administrative law, would likely bring Kavanaugh's skepticism of government agencies to the specialized appeals court, which hears a number of rulemaking challenges. Before her confirmation on a 53-46 vote Rao faced criticism from both sides of the aisle for her views on abortion, administrative law and college age writings on issues like sexual assault.
Justin R. Walker
Age: 38
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky
Confirmed: June 18, 2020
With support from longtime backer Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky,
Judge Walker was tapped for the "second-highest court" after six months on the bench, four years as a law professor and a few years at big firms. Before his confirmation for the trial court, Democrats
ripped his lack of courtroom experience, which spurred a rare "not qualified" rating from the ABA. However, his resume has more appellate credentials, including clerkships with former
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and then-D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh.
FIRST CIRCUIT
A year after appointing Judge Arias-Marxuach to the federal bench in Puerto Rico, Trump proposed elevating him to the First Circuit to succeed the late Judge Juan M. Torruela, the first and only Hispanic on the appeals court that covers Puerto Rico as well as New England. Judge Arias-Marxuach previously spent nearly 25 years with San Juan-based
McConnell Valdes LLC, where he served as vice chair of the litigation practice group.
SECOND CIRCUIT
Joseph F. Bianco
Age: 52
Law School: Columbia Law School
Formerly: Judge, Eastern District of New York
Confirmed: May 9, 2019
A former Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, Bianco has served as a federal district judge for the last 13 years before President Donald Trump picked him in October for a Second Circuit seat. Both of New York's Senators have opposed Judge Bianco's as part of a spat over one of Trump's other Second Circuit picks, but Republicans have advanced both despite that.
Steven J. Menashi
Age: 40
Law School: Stanford Law School
Formerly: Special assistant and senior associate counsel to President Trump
Confirmed: Nov. 14, 2019
Trump named one of his top legal advisers, a special assistant and senior associate counsel to the president who previously served as acting general counsel at the Department of Education, to the Second Circuit. Earlier, Menashi was an assistant professor of law at George Mason University, where he taught courses in administrative law and civil procedure. Menashi also was a partner at
Kirkland & Ellis LLP in New York, where his practice focused on civil and regulatory litigation.
The career federal prosecutor who clerked with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor won praise from his state's two Democratic U.S. senators for his "long, deep connections with the Connecticut legal community." His confirmation brought the Second Circuit to partisan parity, with six judges appointed by Republicans and six by Democrats.
A prominent litigation attorney, Park was involved in the lawsuit over alleged admission bias at Harvard, litigation over the Waters of the United States rule at the Supreme Court and more. Both of New York's Democratic senators opposed Park over his advocacy on issues like abortion, affirmative action and environmental rules, but Republicans confirmed him 52-41.
Richard J. Sullivan
Age: 54
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York
Confirmed: Oct. 11, 2018
The elevation of the longtime district judge to a Second Circuit vacancy was one of the few circuit court judges advanced with bipartisan support in Trump's first years. An adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, Judge Sullivan also served as general counsel and Managing Director of
Marsh Inc. and as a federal prosecutor. His nomination followed months of negotiations between New York's Democratic senators and the White House.
THIRD CIRCUIT
Judge Bibas'
53-43 confirmation made him Trump's eighth appellate nominee to win approval and 13th federal judge overall. A former federal prosecutor with a reputation as a criminal law expert, Bibas previously taught law at the University of Pennsylvania and argued six cases at the Supreme Court. The newly minted judge faced questions about his choices as a prosecutor and his writings about corporal punishment.
Paul Matey
Age: 47
Law School: Seton Hall University School of Law
Formerly: Partner,
Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Confirmed: March 12, 2019
New Jersey's two Democratic senators objected to the nomination of the former aide to the state's GOP governor, Chris Christie, whom he served as senior counsel after working with him at the U.S. attorney's office. The Senate confirmed him 54-45.
Peter J. Phipps
Age: 46
Formerly: Senior Trial Counsel, Federal Programs Branch, DOJ's Civil Division
Confirmed: July 16, 2019
Judge Phipps won Senate confirmation to the Third Circuit after sitting on the federal bench in Pittsburgh for less than a year. Following the selection of Jones Day litigator Gregory Katsas to the D.C. Circuit in 2017, Judge Phipps became another name from the law firm that Trump tapped for a high-profile seat, though he worked there more than a decade ago. In the meantime, he served as a lawyer in the Department of Justice's Civil Division.
David J. Porter
Law School: Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University
Formerly: Shareholder,
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Confirmed: Oct. 11, 2018
Longtime Buchanan attorney David J. Porter was confirmed by the Senate over the objections of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who said Porter is "far outside the mainstream." Casey claimed that Porter's views would denigrate worker rights, healthcare access and equal protection but did not stall his nomination.
FOURTH CIRCUIT
A. Marvin Quattlebaum
Age: 53
Law School: University of South Carolina School of Law
Formerly: U.S. District Judge for the District of South Carolina
Confirmed: Aug. 16, 2018
Fourth Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum was President Donald Trump's first judge to be confirmed to both a trial court and appellate court judgeship. A former
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP partner, Quattlebaum's practice focused on commercial litigation.
Fourth Circuit Judge Jay N. Richardson would come to the bench from a prosecutorial career in South Carolina that includes the prosecution of Dylann Roof, convicted in 2016 in a mass shooting in a Charleston church. Richardson previously worked at
Kellogg Hansen as an associate.
Allison Jones Rushing
Age: 36
Law School: Duke University School of Law
Formerly: Partner,
Williams & Connolly LLP
Confirmed: March 5, 2019
An active appellate attorney, Rushing represented a wide variety of clients at the trial and appellate level, including Silk Road defendants at the U.S. Supreme Court and
Liberty Tax owners at the Fourth Circuit in a $4 million dispute. The youngest of President Donald Trump's appellate judges so far, she faced Democratic criticism over her age and Republicans' holding her confirmation hearing during a congressional recess.
FIFTH CIRCUIT
Cory T. Wilson
Age: 49
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals
Confirmed: June 24, 2020
The former
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP partner became a state judge in 2019 after three years as a Republican in the state Legislature. He was previously tapped for a federal district judgeship in Mississippi, but Trump named Judge Wilson after a few Senate Republicans objected to a previous nominee as insufficiently conservative. At Judge Wilson's confirmation hearing for his previous nomination, Democrats charged that he was
too partisan for the federal judiciary.
Stuart Kyle Duncan
Age: 45
Law School: Louisiana State University Law Center
Formerly: Partner, Schaerr Duncan
Confirmed: April 24, 2018
The former Schaerr Duncan LLP partner was confirmed to the Fifth Circuit in late April 2018 on a 50-47 tally, Trump's 15th appeals court judge to get Senate approval. Duncan served as Louisiana's solicitor general and appellate chief before joining the private sector. He also served as general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and as chief counsel for the Burwell v.
Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.
challenge to the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate as it made its way to the Supreme Court.
Kurt D. Engelhardt
Age: 56
Law School: Louisiana State University Law Center
Formerly: Chief U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Louisiana
Confirmed: May 9, 2018
Judge Engelhardt served as chief district judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and
takes over a vacancy on the Fifth Circuit. During his time on the bench, he has adjudicated several high-profile criminal trials, including one for five police officers accused of shooting evacuees during Hurricane Katrina.
James C. Ho
Age: 44
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Partner, Gibson Dunn; solicitor general of Texas
Confirmed: Dec. 14, 2017
The former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner was
confirmed to the Fifth Circuit on Dec. 14 2017, becoming the first Asian-American judge on the New Orleans-based appeals court, and the sixth sitting Asian-American judge in the country. Ho served early in his career as a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas and later became solicitor general for Texas before joining the firm.
Andrew S. Oldham
Age: 39
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: General counsel to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Confirmed: July 18, 2018
Judge Oldham was previously general counsel to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, previously having been the state's deputy solicitor general. Before that, Oldham worked with Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick in Washington, D.C., and had clerkships with Justice Samuel Alito and Judge David B. Sentelle of the D.C. Circuit. Texas' two Republican senators had praised his nomination.
Don Willett
Age: 51
Law School: Duke University School of Law
Formerly: Justice,
Texas Supreme Court; deputy attorney general of Texas for legal counsel
Confirmed: Dec. 13, 2017
Judge Willett served on his state's high court for 12 years before he was
confirmed to the Fifth Circuit. An alumnus of the George W. Bush administration and the
Texas Attorney General's Office, Willett was best known for his witty
Twitter account, which
won a broad following. It's not clear whether the Supreme Court contender will continue his social media activity while on the federal appellate bench.
SIXTH CIRCUIT
John K. Bush
Age: 53
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Partner, Bingham Greenebaum
Confirmed: July 20, 2017
The Sixth Circuit judge, one of Trump's more controversial judicial nominees, was
confirmed by the Senate 52-47 in July 2017 in the face of Democratic criticism over the judge's partisan blog posts and past public statements. In one post, Judge Bush appeared to conflate decisions of "activist justices" in the Dred Scott case and Roe v. Wade. Bush previously helped lead the litigation department at Bingham Greenebaum, representing corporate clients like
Philip Morris USA Inc. and
Humana Inc.
Joan Louise Larsen
Age: 48
Law School: Northwestern University School of Law
Formerly: Justice, Michigan Supreme Court; professor, University of Michigan School of Law
Confirmed: Nov. 1, 2017
Eric Murphy
Age: 39
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: State solicitor of Ohio
Confirmed: March 7, 2019
The Senate confirmed Sixth Circuit Judge Eric Murphy, who represented Ohio's Attorney General at the appellate level for years, over the objections of Ohio's homestate Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. He and other Democrats opposed his nomination over arguments he made in the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges case on marriage equality and other issues.
Trump's fourth pick to the Sixth Circuit, litigation partner and lead appellate lawyer at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP John B. Nalbandian, was confirmed in May 2018. He represented major telecommunications infrastructure companies like Fiberlight, pharmaceutical companies, West Virginia residents in a class action suit against DuPont and others.
Chad A. Readler
Age: 46
Law School: University of Michigan Law School
Formerly: Acting assistant attorney general and principal deputy attorney general, Civil Division,
U.S. Department of Justice
Confirmed: March 6, 2019
The Senate confirmed Sixth Circuit Judge Chad Readler over the objections of Sen. Brown, all Democrats and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, over his involvement in an Affordable Care Act case as a Justice Department official. Democrats uniformly opposed Readler's nomination, and sought to tie a vote against Readler to support for the ACA's pre-existing conditions coverage mandate.
Amul Thapar
Age: 48
Law School: UC Berkeley School of Law
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Kentucky
Confirmed: May 25, 2017
Judge Thapar was Trump's first appellate nominee to take the bench, after a
52-44 vote largely along party lines in May 2017. Republicans praised his nine-year tenure as a U.S. district judge in Kentucky. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Thapar was "not right" for the people of Michigan, which is included in the Sixth Circuit. Judge Thapar appeared on Trump's Supreme Court short list in September 2016.
SEVENTH CIRCUIT
Amy Coney Barrett
Age: 45
Law School: Notre Dame Law School
Formerly: Professor, Notre Dame Law School
Confirmed: Oct. 31, 2017
Judge Barrett started her career as a clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and later spent over a decade teaching at Notre Dame Law School. Barrett's Catholic faith, however, inspired the brunt of her questioning during a her confirmation hearing, with Democrats questioning her impartiality. Barrett insisted her personal views
would not affect her role as a judge and
was confirmed by a 55-43 vote. The month after her confirmation she appeared on
Trump's Supreme Court short list.
Michael Brennan
Age: 53
Law School: Northwestern University School of Law
Formerly: Partner, Gass Weber Mullins
Confirmed: May 10, 2018
Judge Brennan served on the state bench in Milwaukee County for nearly a decade before leaving to join Gass Weber Mullins LLC, where he developed a trial and appellate practice. Brennan's
conservative credentials — which include founding the
Federalist Society's Milwaukee chapter and defending Wisconsin's "informed consent" abortion law while an assistant district attorney in the 1990s — suggest that he will further push the Chicago appeals court to the right.
The former clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy had spent nearly a decade on white collar and government enforcement matters with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, which he joined after serving as general counsel to President George W. Bush's
National Security Council. The White House and Illinois's two Democratic senators worked together on his nomination, a rarity in the Trump administration.
Amy J. St. Eve
Age: 52
Law School: Cornell Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Illinois
Confirmed: May 14, 2018
The judge was elevated after more than 15 years on a federal district court, where she presided over several high-profile Chicago trials, including one in 2013 which she reprimanded President Donald Trump when he was still best known as a brash billionaire real estate mogul. The White House and Illinois's two Democratic senators worked together on her nomination, a rarity in the Trump administration.
Thomas L. Kirsch II
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: U.S. attorney, Northern District of Indiana
Confirmed: Dec. 15, 2020
Kirsch was tapped to replace Judge Amy Coney Barrett in anticipation of her elevation to the Supreme Court. When he was a partner with
Winston & Strawn LLP, he focused on complex litigation and corporate investigations. He also served in the DOJ, including in the Office of Legal Policy.
EIGHTH CIRCUIT
Ralph Erickson
Age: 58
Law School: University of North Dakota School of Law
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, District of North Dakota
Confirmed: Sept. 28, 2017
One of Trump's few judicial nominees to garner significant bipartisan support so far, the former North Dakota U.S. district judge was approved to the Eighth Circuit by the Senate in a
95-1 vote in 2017. A county and state court judge before joining the federal bench in 2003, Judge Erickson has chaired the
U.S. Sentencing Commission's tribal issues advisory group.
L. Steven Grasz
Age: 55
Law School: University of Nebraska College of Law
Formerly: Senior Counsel,
Husch Blackwell LLP; chief deputy attorney general of Nebraska
Confirmed: Dec. 12, 2017
Senate Republicans
confirmed the Husch Blackwell senior counsel to a seat on the Eighth Circuit, brushing aside Democrats' concerns about his partisan bent and a "not qualified" rating from the
American Bar Association. Grasz served as a longtime deputy assistant attorney general for the state of Nebraska, and his tenure there proved a flash point in considering his nomination.
Jonathan A. Kobes
Age: 44
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Deputy chief of staff and counsel, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
Confirmed: Dec. 11, 2018
Kobes became the first Trump appeals court judge to win confirmation through a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence after outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., withheld his support over concerns about protecting the special counsel's investigation. The American Bar Association gave a "not qualified" to Kobes, a former federal prosecutor turned Senate aide.
David R. Stras
Age: 42
Law School: University of Kansas School of Law
Formerly: Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court
Confirmed: Jan. 30, 2018
Judge Stras won confirmation 56-24 despite opposition from then-Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., bucking a decades-old tradition of deference home-state senators. At his committee hearing Stras defended his record at Minnesota's high court, including his inclination to defer to lawmakers. He was among the first 11 judges on
Trump's Supreme Court short list in May 2016.
NINTH CIRCUIT
Bridget Shelton Bade
Age: 53
Law School: Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Formerly: U.S. Magistrate Judge, District of Arizona
Confirmed: March 26, 2019
A magistrate judge for the last six years, she's presided over a variety of litigation, including a Labor Department suit over alleged overtime violations by a chain of Arizona restaurants. Bade would fill the open Ninth Circuit seat for Arizona.
Ninth Circuit Judge Mark Bennett rose to prominence as Hawaii's attorney general for eight years under Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, arguing twice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bennett previously the director of Honolulu firm Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher, where his practice focused on complex civil litigation such as antitrust and securities matters. Bennett's nomination was unique in Trump's term; he received more opposition from Republicans than Democrats over briefs he wrote in Supreme Court cases on gun rights.
Daniel A. Bress
Age: 39
Law School: University of Virginia School of Law
Formerly: Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Confirmed: July 9, 2019
A new pick for the Ninth Circuit, President Donald Trump nominated Bress over the objections of California's home-state Senators, who have not been happy with any of the administration's choices for the vacant California seats on the high-profile appellate court. As a litigator at Kirkland & Ellis, he's been involved in cases involving alleged defects in talc powder, a False Claims Act suit the United States brought against Honeywell Corp. and more.
Patrick J. Bumatay
Age: 41
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California
Confirmed: Dec. 10, 2019
This was the third time Trump tapped Bumatay, a DOJ veteran and an expert on the opioid crisis. His
October 2018 nomination for the Ninth Circuit was
derailed by opposition from California's two Democratic senators. Bumatay's candidacy for a district-court seat was pending when Trump once again picked him for the appeals court.
Daniel P. Collins
Age: 55
Law School: Stanford Law School
Formerly: Partner,
Munger Tolles & Olson LLP
Confirmed: May 21, 2019
President Trump picked a fight with California's Democratic senators by nominating Collins and several other Ninth Circuit picks over their objections. A prominent litigator, Collins has represented companies like
Royal Dutch Shell in its suits with various municipalities over the alleged costs of infrastructure damage from climate change.
Danielle J. Hunsaker
Age: 42
Law School: University of Idaho College of Law
Formerly: Presiding Judge, Washington County (Oregon) Circuit Court
Confirmed: Nov. 6, 2019
Hunsaker was recommended by Oregon's judicial selection committee to replace Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain, the Reagan appointee with whom she clerked. Senate leaders canceled a July 2018 vote on previous nominee Ryan Bounds, another former O'Scannlain clerk whose college writings on race cost him GOP votes.
Kenneth Kiyul Lee
Age: 43
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Partner,
Jenner & Block LLP
Confirmed: May 15, 2019
President Trump picked a fight with California's Democratic senators by nominating Lee and several other Ninth Circuit picks over their objections. A former associate counsel to President George W. Bush, Lee has represented a diverse group of clients, including
Kraft Foods, Smuckers and even Kanye West since going into private practice.
Eric Miller
Age: 44
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Partner,
Perkins Coie LLP
Confirmed: Feb. 26, 2019
A longtime Justice Department and
Federal Communications Commission attorney, Judge Miller joined Perkins Coie in 2012, where he represented major corporations like
Amazon, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, major food companies and others. The Senate confirmed Judge Miller over the objections over both of Washington's Democratic senators, the first time it had done so in Trump's term.
Trump's third confirmed pick for the influential Ninth Circuit was previously general counsel for Idaho-based household goods giant Melaleuca Inc. Trump first tapped Nelson for the Interior Department's top legal job. Nelson previously worked on Supreme Court nominations for former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and led the Environment and Natural Resources Division at President George W. Bush's DOJ.
Lawrence VanDyke
Age: 46
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division
Confirmed: Dec. 11, 2019
TENTH CIRCUIT
Joel M. Carson III
Law School: University of New Mexico School of Law
Formerly: Principal, Carson
Ryan LLC
Confirmed: May 15, 2018
As a partner with his Roswell-based firm, Carson represented energy companies in disputes with state and federal regulators and worked on legal issues for various industry associations and a conservative legal foundation. Carson also served as a part-time magistrate judge and on the New Mexico Supreme Court's Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission.
Allison Eid
Age: 51
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Justice,
Colorado Supreme Court; professor, University of Chicago Law School
Confirmed: Nov. 2, 2017
The vacancy left by Neil Gorsuch's elevation to the Supreme Court was filled in November 2017 with the
confirmation of Eid, a former justice on Colorado's top bench. Eid won a rare three Democratic votes for her approval, after many in the party
looked suspiciously on her past writings, decisions and advocacy on federal power, gun rights and civil liability. She was among the first 11 judges on
Trump's Supreme Court short list in May 2016.
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
Elizabeth Branch
Age: 48
Law School: Emory University School of Law
Formerly: Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals
Confirmed: Feb. 27, 2018
Andrew L. Brasher
Age: 38
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Middle District of Alabama
Confirmed: Feb. 11, 2020
One of Trump's youngest appellate picks, Judge Brasher was tapped for a promotion just six months after a party-line Senate vote made him a U.S. district judge despite opposition from Alabama's Democratic senator, Doug Jones. He previously served five years as the state's solicitor general, defending laws including an
overturned abortion restriction. He has practiced with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and clerked with Eleventh Circuit Judge William H. Pryor Jr.
Grant won confirmation to the Eleventh Circuit over the objections of most Democrats. The previous year she had appeared on
Trump's Supreme Court short list. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal appointed her in January 2017 to the state's Supreme Court; before that, she had served as the state's solicitor general since 2015. She was previously a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a law clerk to then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh and a staffer in the Bush White House.
Barbara Lagoa
Age: 51
Law School: Columbia University School of Law
Formerly: Justice,
Florida Supreme Court
Confirmed: Nov. 20, 2019
The former
Greenberg Traurig LLP commercial litigator got the nod a few months after becoming the first Cuban-American woman on the state's high court. She spent 13 years the state's Third District Court of Appeal and also previously worked as a federal prosecutor.
Robert J. Luck
Age: 40
Law School: University of Florida Levin College of Law
Formerly: Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Confirmed: Nov. 19, 2019
The former Greenberg Traurig LLP commercial litigator got the nod a few months after joining the state's high court. He previously spent two years on the state's Third District Court of Appeal and four years as a trial judge in Miami's 11th Judicial Circuit Court. Before working as a federal prosecutor, he clerked for Eleventh Circuit Judge Edward E. Carne.
Kevin Newsom
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
Confirmed: Aug. 1, 2017
Judge Newsom was approved with some Democratic support in a 66-31 vote. A Harvard Law grad who clerked for Justice David Souter, Newsom's path to the Eleventh Circuit included a stop at
Covington & Burling LLP, a stint as Alabama's solicitor general and a decade in the Birmingham office of Bradley Arant, where he eventually led the firm's appellate practice. A few months after his confirmation he appeared on
Trump's Supreme Court short list.
U.S. SUPREME COURT
Amy Coney Barrett
Age: 48
Law School: Notre Dame Law School
Formerly: Judge, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Nominated: Sept. 26, 2020
Confirmed: Oct. 26, 2020
Justice Barrett succeeded the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose death 46 days before Election Day allowed Senate Republicans to give Trump a third appointment and cement a conservative majority on the high court. After three years on the Seventh Circuit, the former constitutional law professor saw a
deeply partisan confirmation vote the week before the election.
Brett Kavanaugh
Age: 50
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Judge, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
Nominated: July 9, 2018
Confirmed: Oct. 6, 2018
The monumental battle over the confirmation of Trump's second Supreme Court Justice could fundamentally change the Senate. For months Senators wrestled with sexual assault allegations against Judge Kavanaugh, his judicial views on abortion, executive authority and more before ultimately confirming him on a two-vote margin, the narrowest in the last century.
Neil Gorsuch
Age: 50
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Judge, Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals
Nominated: Jan. 31, 2017
Confirmed: April 7, 2017
The selection of then-Tenth Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was one of Trump's first acts as president and may prove his most consequential. Justice Gorsuch's
April confirmation capped a yearlong saga that included President Barack Obama's failed nomination of Judge Merrick Garland and a Senate rule change by Republicans forcing through Trump's pick. The political hardball appears to be paying off, as Justice Gorsuch has
already aligned himself with the court's conservatives.
D.C. CIRCUIT
Gregory Katsas
Age: 53
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Deputy counsel to President Trump; partner, Jones Day
Confirmed: Nov. 28, 2017
Veteran Washington litigator Gregory G. Katsas replaced retired D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown on what's often called the country's second most powerful court. Katsas gained prominence arguing high-profile appeals as a partner at Jones Day, including the
first challenge to the Affordable Care Act at the Supreme Court. His former role as White House deputy counsel
raised concerns about his ability to fairly review administrative policy — a regular part of the D.C. Circuit's specialized docket.
Neomi Rao
Age: 45
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Confirmed: March 13, 2018
Trump chose the lawyer overseeing his administration's regulatory rollback to replace Justice Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit. Neomi Rao, a conservative academic with developed views on administrative law, would likely bring Kavanaugh's skepticism of government agencies to the specialized appeals court, which hears a number of rulemaking challenges. Before her confirmation on a 53-46 vote Rao faced criticism from both sides of the aisle for her views on abortion, administrative law and college age writings on issues like sexual assault.
FIRST CIRCUIT
Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach
Age: 53
Law School: University of Puerto Rico School of Law
Currently: Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico
Nominated: Nov. 13, 2020
A year after appointing Judge Arias-Marxuach to the federal bench in Puerto Rico, Trump proposed elevating him to the First Circuit to succeed the late Judge Juan M. Torruela, the first and only Hispanic on the appeals court that covers Puerto Rico as well as New England. Judge Arias-Marxuach previously spent nearly 25 years with San Juan-based McConnell Valdes LLC, where he served as vice chair of the litigation practice group.
SECOND CIRCUIT
Joseph F. Bianco
Age: 52
Law School: Columbia Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of New York
Confirmed: May 9, 2019
A former Justice Department official under President George W. Bush, Bianco has served as a federal district judge for the last 13 years before President Donald Trump picked him in October for a Second Circuit seat. Both of New York's Senators have opposed Judge Bianco's as part of a spat over one of Trump's other Second Circuit picks, but Republicans have advanced both despite that.
Steven J. Menashi
Age: 40
Law School: Stanford Law School
Formerly: Special assistant and senior associate counsel to President Trump
Confirmed: Nov. 14, 2019
Trump named one of his top legal advisers, a special assistant and senior associate counsel to the president who previously served as acting general counsel at the Department of Education, to the Second Circuit. Earlier, Menashi was an assistant professor of law at George Mason University, where he taught courses in administrative law and civil procedure. Menashi also was a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP in New York, where his practice focused on civil and regulatory litigation.
William J. Nardini
Age: 50
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: Chief of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut
Confirmed: Nov. 7, 2019
The career federal prosecutor who clerked with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor won praise from his state's two Democratic U.S. senators for his "long, deep connections with the Connecticut legal community." His confirmation brought the Second Circuit to partisan parity, with six judges appointed by Republicans and six by Democrats.
Michael H. Park
Age: 42
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: Partner, Consovoy McCarthy Park PLLC
Confirmed: May 9, 2019
A prominent litigation attorney, Park was involved in the lawsuit over alleged admission bias at Harvard, litigation over the Waters of the United States rule at the Supreme Court and more. Both of New York's Democratic senators opposed Park over his advocacy on issues like abortion, affirmative action and environmental rules, but Republicans confirmed him 52-41.
Richard J. Sullivan
Age: 54
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Southern District of New York
Confirmed: Oct. 11, 2018
The elevation of the longtime district judge to a Second Circuit vacancy was one of the few circuit court judges advanced with bipartisan support in Trump's first years. An adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, Judge Sullivan also served as general counsel and Managing Director of Marsh Inc. and as a federal prosecutor. His nomination followed months of negotiations between New York's Democratic senators and the White House.
THIRD CIRCUIT
Stephanos Bibas
Age: 48
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School; prosecutor, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York
Confirmed: Nov. 2, 2017
Judge Bibas'
53-43 confirmation made him Trump's eighth appellate nominee to win approval and 13th federal judge overall. A former federal prosecutor with a reputation as a criminal law expert, Bibas previously taught law at the University of Pennsylvania and argued six cases at the Supreme Court. The newly minted judge faced questions about his choices as a prosecutor and his writings about corporal punishment.
Paul Matey
Age: 47
Law School: Seton Hall University School of Law
Formerly: Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, University Hospital in Newark, N.J.
Confirmed: March 12, 2019
New Jersey's two Democratic senators objected to the nomination of the former aide to the state's GOP governor, Chris Christie, whom he served as senior counsel after working with him at the U.S. attorney's office. The Senate confirmed him 54-45.
Peter J. Phipps
Age: 46
Law School: Stanford Law School
Formerly: Senior trial counsel, Federal Programs Branch, DOJ's Civil Division
Confirmed: July 16, 2019
Judge Phipps won Senate confirmation to the Third Circuit after sitting on the federal bench in Pittsburgh for less than a year. Following the selection of Jones Day litigator Gregory Katsas for the D.C. Circuit in 2017, Judge Phipps became another name from the law firm that Trump tapped for a high-profile seat, though he worked there more than a decade ago. In the meantime, he served as a lawyer in the Justice Department's Civil Division.
David J. Porter
Law School: Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University
Formerly: Shareholder, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Confirmed: Oct. 11, 2018
Longtime Buchanan attorney David J. Porter was confirmed by the Senate over the objections of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who said Porter is "far outside the mainstream." Casey claimed that Porter's views would denigrate worker rights, healthcare access and equal protection but did not stall his nomination.
FOURTH CIRCUIT
A. Marvin Quattlebaum
Age: 53
Law School: University of South Carolina School of Law
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, District of South Carolina
Confirmed: Aug. 16, 2018
Fourth Circuit Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum was President Donald Trump's first judge to be confirmed to both a trial court and appellate court judgeship. A former Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, LLP partner, Quattlebaum's practice focused on commercial litigation.
Jay Richardson
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Deputy chief of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina
Confirmed: Aug. 16, 2018
Fourth Circuit Judge Jay N. Richardson would come to the bench from a prosecutorial career in South Carolina that includes the prosecution of Dylann Roof, convicted in 2016 in a mass shooting in a Charleston church. Richardson previously worked at Kellogg Hansen as an associate.
Allison Jones Rushing
Age: 36
Law School: Duke University School of Law
Formerly: Partner, Williams & Connolly LLP
Confirmed: March 5, 2019
A highly active appellate attorney, Rushing represented a wide variety of clients at the trial and appellate level, including Silk Road defendants at the Supreme Court, Liberty Tax owners at the Fourth Circuit in a $4 million dispute and more. The youngest of President Donald Trump's appellate judges so far, she faced Democratic criticism over her age and Republicans' holding her confirmation hearing during a Congressional recess.
FIFTH CIRCUIT
Cory T. Wilson
Age: 49
Law School: Yale Law School
Formerly: Judge, Mississippi Court of Appeals
Nominated: March 30, 2020
The former Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP partner became a state judge in 2019 after three years as a Republican in the state Legislature. He was previously tapped for a federal district judgeship in Mississippi, but Trump named Judge Wilson after a few Senate Republicans objected to a previous nominee as insufficiently conservative. At Judge Wilson's confirmation hearing for his previous nomination, Democrats charged that he was
too partisan for the federal judiciary.
Stuart Kyle Duncan
Age: 45
Law School: Louisiana State University Law Center
Formerly: Partner, Schaerr Duncan
Confirmed: April 24, 2018
Former Schaerr Duncan LLP partner Kyle Duncan was confirmed to the Fifth Circuit in late April on a 50-47 tally, Trump's 15th appeals court judge to get Senate approval. Duncan served as Louisiana's solicitor general and appellate chief before joining the private sector. He also served as general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, and as chief counsel for the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. challenge to the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate as it made its way to the Supreme Court.
Kurt D. Engelhardt
Age: 56
Law School: Louisiana State University Law Center
Formerly: Chief U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Louisiana
Confirmed: Sept. 28, 2017
Judge Kurt Engelhardt served as chief district judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and
takes over a vacancy on the Fifth Circuit. During his time on the bench, he has adjudicated several high-profile criminal trials, including one for five police officers accused of shooting evacuees during Hurricane Katrina.
James C. Ho
Age: 44
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Partner, Gibson Dunn; solicitor general of Texas
Confirmed: Dec. 14, 2017
Former Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP partner Jim Ho was
confirmed to the Fifth Circuit on Dec. 14, becoming the first Asian-American judge on the New Orleans-based appeals court, and the sixth sitting Asian-American judge in the country. Ho served early in his career as a clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas and later became solicitor general for Texas before joining the firm.
Andrew S. Oldham
Age: 39
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: General counsel to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
Confirmed: July 18, 2018
Judge Oldham previously served as general counsel to Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott and the state's deputy solicitor general. Before that, Oldham worked with Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick in Washington, D.C., and clerked with Justice Samuel Alito and D.C. Circuit Judge David B. Sentelle.
Don Willett
Age: 51
Law School: Duke University School of Law
Formerly: Justice, Texas Supreme Court; deputy attorney general of Texas for legal counsel
Confirmed: Dec. 13, 2017
Judge Willett served on his state's high court for 12 years before he was
confirmed to the Fifth Circuit. An alumnus of the George W. Bush administration and the Texas Attorney General's Office, Willett was best known for his witty Twitter account, which
won a broad following. It's not clear whether the Supreme Court contender will continue his social media activity while on the federal appellate bench.
SIXTH CIRCUIT
John K. Bush
Age: 53
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Partner,
Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP
Confirmed: July 20, 2017
Sixth Circuit Judge John K. Bush, one of Trump's more controversial judicial nominees, was
confirmed by the Senate 52-47 in the face of Democratic criticism over the judge's partisan blog posts and past public statements. In one post, Judge Bush appeared to conflate decisions of "activist justices" in the Dred Scott case and Roe v. Wade. Bush previously helped lead the litigation department at Bingham Greenebaum, representing corporate clients like Philip Morris USA Inc. and Humana Inc.
Joan Louise Larsen
Age: 48
Law School: Northwestern University School of Law
Formerly: Justice, Michigan Supreme Court; professor, University of Michigan School of Law
Confirmed: Nov. 1, 2017
The former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia
won confirmation 60-38. She also worked as a Sidley Austin LLP associate and spent time in academia before being named to the Michigan Supreme Court. At her confirmation hearing, Justice Larsen
defended her impartiality as Democrats probed her time at the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel in the George W. Bush administration. She was among the first 11 judges on
Trump's Supreme Court short list in May 2016.
Eric Murphy
Age: 39
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: State solicitor of Ohio
Confirmed: March 7, 2019
The Senate confirmed Sixth Circuit Judge Eric Murphy, who represented Ohio's attorney general at the appellate level for years, over the objections of Ohio's homestate Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. He and other Democrats opposed his nomination over arguments he made in the Supreme Court's Obergefell v. Hodges case on marriage equality and other issues.
John Nalbanian
Law School: University of Virginia School of Law
Formerly: Partner, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Confirmed: May 15, 2018
Trump's fourth pick to the Sixth Circuit, litigation partner and lead appellate lawyer at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP John B. Nalbandian, was confirmed in May 2018. He represented major telecommunications infrastructure companies like Fiberlight, pharmaceutical companies, West Virginia residents in a class action suit against DuPont and others.
Chad A. Readler
Age: 46
Law School: University of Michigan Law School
Formerly: Acting assistant U.S. attorney general and principal deputy assistant U.S. attorney general, DOJ Civil Division
Confirmed: March 6, 2019
The Senate confirmed Sixth Circuit Judge Chad Readler over the objections of Sen. Brown, all Democrats and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, over his involvement in an Affordable Care Act case as a Justice Department official. Democrats uniformly opposed Readler's nomination, and sought to tie a vote against Readler to support for the ACA's pre-existing conditions coverage mandate.
Amul Thapar
Age: 48
Law School: UC Berkeley School of Law
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Kentucky
Confirmed: May 25, 2017
Judge Thapar was Trump's first appellate nominee to take the bench after a
52-44 vote largely along party lines in May 2017. Republicans praised his nine-year tenure as a U.S. district judge in Kentucky. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Thapar was "not right" for the people of Michigan, which is included in the Sixth Circuit. Judge Thapar appeared on
Trump's Supreme Court short list in September 2016.
SEVENTH CIRCUIT
Amy Coney Barrett
Age: 45
Law School: Notre Dame Law School
Formerly: Professor, Notre Dame Law School
Confirmed: Oct. 31, 2017
Judge Barrett started her career as a clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and later spent over a decade teaching at Notre Dame Law School. Barrett's Catholic faith, however, inspired the brunt of her questioning during a her confirmation hearing, with Democrats questioning her impartiality. Barrett insisted her personal views
would not affect her role as a judge and
was confirmed by a 55-43 vote. The month after her confirmation she appeared on
Trump's Supreme Court short list.
Michael Brennan
Age: 53
Law School: Northwestern University School of Law
Formerly: Partner, Gass Weber Mullins
Confirmed: May 10, 2018
Judge Brennan served on the state bench in Milwaukee County for nearly a decade before leaving to join Gass Weber Mullins LLC, where he developed a trial and appellate practice. Brennan's
conservative credentials — which include founding the Federalist Society's Milwaukee chapter and defending Wisconsin's "informed consent" abortion law while an assistant district attorney in the 1990s — suggest that he will further push the Chicago appeals court to the right.
Michael Y. Scudder
Law School: Northwestern University School of Law
Formerly: Partner, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP
Confirmed: May 14, 2018
The former clerk to Justice Anthony Kennedy had spent nearly a decade on white collar and government enforcement matters with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, which he joined after serving as general counsel to President George W. Bush's National Security Council. The White House and Illinois's two Democratic senators worked together on his nomination, a rarity in the Trump administration.
Amy J. St. Eve
Age: 52
Law School: Cornell Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Northern District of Illinois
Confirmed: May 14, 2018
The judge was elevated after more than 15 years on a federal district court, where she presided over several high-profile Chicago trials, including one in 2013 which she reprimanded President Donald Trump when he was still best known as a brash billionaire real estate mogul. The White House and Illinois's two Democratic senators worked together on her nomination, a rarity in the Trump administration.
EIGHTH CIRCUIT
Ralph Erickson
Age: 58
Law School: University of North Dakota School of Law
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, District of North Dakota
Confirmed: Sept. 28, 2017
One of the few judicial nominees to garner significant bipartisan support so far in Trump's term, former North Dakota U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson was approved to the Eighth Circuit by the Senate in a
95-1 vote on Sept. 28. A county and state court judge before joining the federal bench in 2003, Judge Erickson has chaired the U.S. Sentencing Commission's tribal issues advisory group.
L. Steven Grasz
Age: 55
Law School: University of Nebraska College of Law
Formerly: Senior counsel, Husch Blackwell LLP; chief deputy attorney general of Nebraska
Confirmed: Dec. 12, 2017
Senate Republicans
confirmed Husch Blackwell senior counsel L. Steven Grasz to a seat on the Eighth Circuit, brushing aside Democrats' concerns about his partisan bent and a "not qualified" rating from the American Bar Association. Grasz served as a longtime deputy assistant attorney general for the state of Nebraska, and his tenure there proved a flash point in considering his nomination.
Jonathan A. Kobes
Age: 44
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Deputy chief of staff and counsel, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
Confirmed: Dec. 11, 2018
Judge Kobes became the first Trump appeals court nominee to win confirmation through a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence after outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., withheld his support over concerns about protecting the special counsel's investigation. The American Bar Association gave a "not qualified" to Kobes, a former federal prosecutor turned Senate aide.
David R. Stras
Age: 42
Law School: University of Kansas School of Law
Formerly: Justice, Minnesota Supreme Court
Confirmed: Jan. 30, 2018
Judge Stras won confirmation 56-24 despite opposition from then-Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., bucking a decades-old tradition of deference home-state senators. At his committee hearing Stras defended his record at Minnesota's high court, including his inclination to defer to lawmakers. He was among the first 11 judges on
Trump's Supreme Court short list in May 2016.
NINTH CIRCUIT
Bridget Shelton Bade
Age: 53
Law School: Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
Formerly: U.S. Magistrate Judge, District of Arizona
Confirmed: March 26, 2019
A magistrate judge for the last six years, she's presided over a variety of litigation, including a Labor Department suit over alleged overtime violations by a chain of Arizona restaurants. Bade would fill the open Ninth Circuit seat for Arizona.
Mark J. Bennett
Age: 64
Law School: Cornell Law School
Formerly: Director, Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher
Confirmed: July 10, 2018
Ninth Circuit Judge Mark Bennett rose to prominence as Hawaii's attorney general for eight years under Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, arguing twice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Bennett previously the director of Honolulu firm Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher, where his practice focused on complex civil litigation such as antitrust and securities matters. Bennett's nomination was unique in Trump's term; he received more opposition from Republicans than Democrats over briefs he wrote in Supreme Court cases on gun rights.
Daniel A. Bress
Age: 39
Law School: University of Virginia School of Law
Formerly: Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP
Confirmed: July 9, 2019
A new pick for the Ninth Circuit, President Donald Trump nominated Bress over the objections of California's home-state Senators, who have not been happy with any of the administration's choices for the vacant California seats on the high-profile appellate court. As a litigator at Kirkland & Ellis, he's been involved in cases involving alleged defects in talc powder, a False Claims Act suit the United States brought against Honeywell Corp. and more.
Patrick J. Bumatay
Age: 41
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Southern District of California
Confirmed: Dec. 10, 2019
This was the third time Trump tapped Bumatay, a DOJ veteran and an expert on the opioid crisis. His October 2018 nomination for the Ninth Circuit was derailed by opposition from California's two Democratic senators. Bumatay's candidacy for a district-court seat was pending when Trump once again picked him for the appeals court.
Daniel P. Collins
Age: 55
Law School: Stanford Law School
Formerly: Partner, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP
Confirmed: May 21, 2019
President Trump picked a fight with California's Democratic senators by nominating Collins and several other Ninth Circuit picks over their objections. A prominent litigator, Collins has represented companies like Royal Dutch Shell in its suits with various municipalities over the alleged costs of infrastructure damage from climate change.
Danielle J. Hunsaker
Law School: University of Idaho College of Law
Formerly: Presiding Judge, Washington County Circuit Court of Oregon
Confirmed: Nov. 6, 2019
Hunsaker was recommended by Oregon's judicial selection committee to replace Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain, the Reagan appointee with whom she clerked. Senate leaders canceled a July 2018 vote on previous nominee Ryan Bounds, another former O'Scannlain clerk whose college writings on race cost him GOP votes.
Kenneth Kiyul Lee
Age: 43
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Partner, Jenner & Block LLP
Confirmed: May 15, 2019
President Trump picked a fight with California's Democratic senators by nominating Lee and several other Ninth Circuit picks over their objections. A former associate counsel to President George W. Bush, Lee has represented a diverse group of clients, including Kraft Foods, Smuckers and even Kanye West since going into private practice.
Eric Miller
Age: 44
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Partner, Perkins Coie LLP
Confirmed: Feb. 26, 2019
A longtime Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission attorney, Judge Miller joined Perkins Coie in 2012, where he represented major corporations like Amazon, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, major food companies and others. The Senate confirmed Judge Miller over the objections over both of Washington's Democratic Senators, the first time it had done so in Trump's term.
Ryan Nelson
Age: 44
Law School: Brigham Young University Law School
Formerly: General counsel, Melaleuca Inc.; partner, Sidley Austin LLP
Confirmed: Oct. 11, 2018
Trump's third confirmed pick for the influential Ninth Circuit was previously general counsel for Idaho-based household goods giant Melaleuca Inc. Trump first tapped Nelson for the Interior Department's top legal job. Nelson previously worked on Supreme Court nominations for former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and led the Environment and Natural Resources Division at President George W. Bush's DOJ.
Lawrence VanDyke
Age: 46
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division
Confirmed: Dec. 11, 2019
As a top DOJ lawyer, VanDyke defended the Trump administration's decisions to revoke Obama-era fracking regulations and allow Alaskan oil and gas exploration. He previously served as solicitor general for both Nevada and Montana. He led a coalition of states that won a nationwide injunction in 2016 against the Obama administration's controversial rule expanding overtime protections. He also represented Nevada in its fight against federal plans to preserve habitat for the greater sage-grouse. He previously worked at Gibson Dunn and Crutcher LLP.
TENTH CIRCUIT
Joel M. Carson III
Law School: University of New Mexico School of Law
Formerly: Principal, Carson Ryan LLC
Confirmed: May 15, 2018
As a partner with his Roswell-based firm, Carson represented energy companies in disputes with state and federal regulators and worked on legal issues for various industry associations and a conservative legal foundation. Carson also served as a part-time magistrate judge and on the New Mexico Supreme Court's Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission.
Allison Eid
Age: 51
Law School: University of Chicago Law School
Formerly: Justice, Colorado Supreme Court; Professor, University of C cago Law School
Confirmed: Nov. 2, 2017
The vacancy left by Neil Gorsuch's elevation to the Supreme Court was filled in November 2017 with the
confirmation of Eid, a former justice on Colorado's top bench. Eid won a rare three Democratic votes for her approval, after many in the party
looked suspiciously on her past writings, decisions and advocacy on federal power, gun rights and civil liability. She was among the first 11 judges on
Trump's Supreme Court short list in May 2016.
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
Elizabeth Branch
Age: 48
Law School: Emory University School of Law
Formerly: Judge, Georgia Court of Appeals; professor, University of Minnesota Law School
Confirmed: Feb. 27, 2018
Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth "Lisa" Branch is Trump's
second appointee to the Eleventh Circuit following her confirmation with bipartisan support in February. Active in the Federalist Society's Atlanta chapter and an alumna of the Bush Department of Homeland Security and Office of Management and Budget, Branch joins four other full-time female judges on the 12-member appeals court, replacing female U.S. Circuit Judge Frank M. Hull. Branch
defended her originalist principles during a Dec. 13 confirmation hearing in the Judiciary Committee.
Andrew L. Brasher
Age: 38
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: U.S. District Judge, Middle District of Alabama
Confirmed: Feb. 11, 2020
One of Trump's youngest appellate picks, Judge Brasher was tapped for a promotion just six months after a party-line Senate vote made him a U.S. district judge despite opposition from Alabama's Democratic senator, Doug Jones. He previously served five years as the state's solicitor general, defending laws including an
overturned abortion restriction. He has practiced with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP and clerked with Eleventh Circuit Judge William H. Pryor Jr.
Britt C. Grant
Law School: Stanford Law School
Formerly: Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia
Confirmed: July 31, 2018
Grant won confirmation to the Eleventh Circuit over the objections of most Democrats. The previous year she had appeared on
Trump's Supreme Court short list. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal appointed her in January 2017 to the state's Supreme Court; before that, she had served as the state's solicitor general since 2015. She was previously a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a law clerk to then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh and a staffer in the Bush White House.
Barbara Lagoa
Age: 51
Law School: Columbia University School of Law
Formerly: Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Confirmed: Nov. 20, 2019
The former Greenberg Traurig LLP commercial litigator got the nod a few months after becoming the first Cuban-American woman on the state's high court. She spent 13 years the state's Third District Court of Appeal and also previously worked as a federal prosecutor.
Robert J. Luck
Age: 40
Law School: University of Florida Levin College of Law
Formerly: Justice, Florida Supreme Court
Confirmed: Nov. 19, 2019
The former Greenberg Traurig LLP commercial litigator got the nod a few months after joining the state's high court. He previously spent two years on the state's Third District Court of Appeal and four years as a trial judge in Miami's 11th Judicial Circuit Court. Before working as a federal prosecutor, he clerked for Eleventh Circuit Judge Edward E. Carne.
Kevin Newsom
Law School: Harvard Law School
Formerly: Partner, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
Confirmed: Aug. 1, 2017
Judge Newsom was approved with some Democratic support in a 66-31 vote. A Harvard Law grad who clerked for Justice David Souter, Newsom's path to the Eleventh Circuit included a stop at Covington & Burling LLP, a stint as Alabama's solicitor general and a decade in the Birmingham office of Bradley Arant, where he eventually led the firm's appellate practice. A few months after his confirmation he appeared on
Trump's Supreme Court short list.
on the federal prosecutor rather than have the nominee fail to win confirmation. Several GOP senators said they had concerns about his controversial college writings, especially on race.
partner's long pursuit of a federal judgeship — which included two nominations under President George W. Bush — may have finally come to an end after Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., pulled his support
. Scott cited a DOJ memo detailing alleged violations of the Voting Rights Act by a congressional campaign that Farr had represented. A federal prosecutor turned law professor finally filled the 14-year vacancy
after a video emerged of him delivering a lecture titled "The Church and Homosexuality" to a group of pastors, in which he said a transgender child plays a role in "Satan's plan."
at a federal judgeship during his Senate confirmation hearing in mid-December, when he was unable to define basic trial terms like a "motion in limine."
following reports of thousands of anonymous online postings he authored, including one in which he appeared to defend the legacy of the early Ku Klux Klan, as well as his
to a White House lawyer in his Senate questionnaire. He received a "not qualified" rating from the ABA and acknowledged that he had never tried a case.