Trump Formally Announces Three Federal Judge Nominations, Including the Justice Department's Top Legal Counsel
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, in three posts on Truth Social on November 10, formally announced three nominations to the federal district courts: Grayson Lambert for the District of South Carolina, Elliot Gaiser for the Northern District of Texas, and James Sullivan for the Western District of Texas. The posts were published between 11:51 a.m. and 11:54 a.m. Eastern Time on November 10. All three must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate before taking their seats, which carry life tenure.
Lambert is chief legal counsel to South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, was previously a partner at a law firm, and clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Duke University School of Law. The Senate Judiciary Committee received his nomination paperwork in late October, a step GSM reported at the time; the White House then told reporters he was being actively considered and that it had no new nominations to announce.
Gaiser is the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel, the Justice Department office that gives authoritative legal advice to the president and the executive branch, and previously served as solicitor general of Ohio. A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and Hillsdale College, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and for Judges Neomi Rao and Edith Jones. According to Reuters, the Judiciary Committee received his paperwork on Sunday, the White House likewise said it had no new nominations to announce and that he was being actively considered, and his contacts with the Senate began the day after the November 3 midterm elections.
Sullivan is a justice of the Texas Supreme Court, previously general counsel and assistant solicitor general to Governor Greg Abbott, a graduate of Rice University and Harvard Law School, and a former clerk to Judge Thomas Griffith; Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn both recommended him to Trump. According to Reuters, Sullivan lost his bid to keep his Texas Supreme Court seat in the November 3 election, the Judiciary Committee received his paperwork on November 5, and the White House made no announcement at that time.
The three posts are the formal announcement step: paperwork for all three men had already reached the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the White House had previously described each only as being actively considered. The nominations now move to committee hearings and votes, then to the full Senate; as of publication, the Senate had taken no confirmation action on the three. (Source: Donald Trump)
Related:
Trump Urges Senate to Confirm All 161 Pending Nominations, Including 25 Federal Judges
Source: Donald Trump
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国会大厦全景（联邦核心固定图库）。照片：Wikimedia Commons「Capitol Building Full View.jpg」，公共领域。The United States Capitol, full view (Wikimedia Commons, 'Capitol Building Full View.jpg', public domain).
- 2026-11-09Trump Urges Senate to Confirm All 161 Pending Nominations, Including 25 Federal Judges
- 2026-11-10Trump Formally Announces Three Federal Judge Nominations, Including the Justice Department's Top Legal CounselThis story
