United States President, Donald Trump, has announced late Thursday his first judicial nominee since returning to the White House.
He revealed plans to nominate Whitney Hermandorfer, a legal advisor under Tennessee’s Republican Attorney General, to serve on the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in Cincinnati.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump shared his decision to tap Hermandorfer, who previously clerked for three conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices, to fill the vacancy left on the appellate bench.
The position opened after President Joe Biden’s nominee failed to gain Senate confirmation before the end of his term, primarily due to opposition from Tennessee’s GOP senators.
“Whitney is a Fighter who will inspire confidence in our Legal System,” Trump stated in his post.
This marks the beginning of what could be more than 100 judicial appointments over Trump’s next four years in office, enabling him to further shape the federal judiciary with conservative voices. During his initial term, Trump appointed 234 judges, including three Supreme Court justices, contributing to the current 6-3 conservative majority.
Hermandorfer, currently serving in the office of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, has been involved in defending the state’s strict abortion laws and opposing a Biden-era policy designed to protect transgender students from discrimination in educational institutions.
Should the U.S. Senate confirm her nomination, Hermandorfer would succeed U.S. Circuit Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
Stranch signaled last year her intention to assume senior status, a form of semi-retirement, once a successor was confirmed.
President Biden had earlier put forward Karla Campbell, a former clerk of Stranch, to take the seat.
However, following the 2024 election, a bipartisan Senate agreement allowed for the confirmation of several remaining district court nominees in exchange for shelving four appellate picks, including Campbell.
A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at the time that the four appellate nominees lacked the necessary votes for confirmation. Biden eventually concluded his term with 235 confirmed judicial appointees—one more than Trump had during his first presidency.
