On January 16, President Donald Trump (R) announced six nominees to Article III federal judicial positions. Article III federal judges are appointed by the president, confirmed by the Senate, and serve for life. The nominees are:
- Greg G. Guidry, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
- James Wesley Hendrix, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
- Sean D. Jordan, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
- Michael T. Liburdi, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
- Mark T. Pittman, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
- Peter D. Welte, nominee to the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota.
The nominees will fill out a questionnaire and be reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee will hold a hearing with the nominee. After the hearing, the committee votes to approve or return the nominee. If approved, the nomination advances to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. Confirming a judicial nominee requires a majority vote of 51 Senators.
Since assuming office in January 2017, Trump has nominated 167 individuals to serve as Article III federal judges. He nominated 69 judicial nominees in 2017 and 92 in 2018. At the sine die adjournment of the 115th Congress on Jan. 3, 2019, 31 nominees were awaiting a Senate vote, 24 were awaiting a committee vote, and 16 were awaiting a hearing. The President must renominate these 71 individuals to the 116th Congress if he wishes to move forward with their nominations.
Currently, the six new nominations are awaiting a committee hearing. None of the six were previously nominated by the president in 2017 or 2018. There are currently no nominees awaiting a committee vote or Senate vote.
As of January 2019, the Senate has confirmed 85 judges—53 district court judges, 30 appeals court judges, and two Supreme Court justices—nominated by the president. Comparatively, the Senate had confirmed 62 judges—2 Supreme Court judges, 16 appeals court judges, and 44 district court judges—nominated by President Barack Obama (D) at the same point in his presidency.