Houston Chronicle by Taylor Goldenstein and Benjamin Wermund July 30, 2019
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved James Wesley Hendrix as a federal judge for the Northern District of Texas and appellate lawyer Sean D. Jordan to the Eastern District of Texas, the first two of seven Texas nominees expected to clear confirmation this week.
Hendrix had been serving as assistant U.S. attorney and chief of the appellate division for the Northern District. Jordan is an Austin lawyer who previously served as the principal deputy solicitor general in Texas. Both are members of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization.
Hendrix, Jordan and five other other Texas judges are among 19 whose nominations are being sped along by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who has said he’s hoping to fit in as many as he can ahead of the August recess starting Thursday.
President Donald Trump, with the help of McConnell, has made a big push during his presidency to fill judicial roles, especially federal judges with lifetime appointments. So far, more than 130 nominees have been confirmed, a legacy that will continue to sway public affairs regardless of whether Trump wins reelection in 2020.
Civil rights groups are decrying the president’s choice of several of the nominees, including that of Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Vincent Brown, who once suggested publicly that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision allowing gay marriage could be grounds for Texas to secede again. Brown was nominated to the Southern District of Texas in Houston.
That opposition is unlikely to slow the Republican-controlled Senate, however, as lawmakers continue confirming Trump’s nominees, hand-picked for their conservatism and their youth.
The other Texas judges up for approval are Mark T. Pittman, a judge with the Texas Second Court of Appeals, nominated to the Northern District of Texas; Fifth District Court of Appeals Justice Ada E. Brown, nominated to the Northern District of Texas; Brantley Starr, Texas deputy first assistant attorney general, nominated to the Northern District of Texas; and San Antonio attorney Jason K. Pulliam, nominated to the Western District of Texas.
More:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Seven-Trump-picks-in-line-for-Texas-federal-judge-14268075.php
