Trump Announces First Wave Of Federal Court Nominations

With 46 current judicial appointments to make, President Donald Trump began the process Tuesday by nominating five judges, in addition to one last week, according to a list shared with the Daily Caller.

Over the past few weeks, the Senate has been awaiting Trump’s long-awaited judicial nominees. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Caller in March that she did not have an update on when the nominations or vetting would begin but said she would provide a list of names to the outlet. The White House provided a list of six judges being nominated to federal courts, including one judge to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit who was appointed earlier.

“A former Clerk to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Joshua knows what is required to protect the Rule of Law and Constitutional Rights for the Great People of Missouri. We must have Constitutionalist Judges now, more than EVER BEFORE. Congratulations Joshua!” Trump wrote on Tuesday in a Truth Social post.

Trump nominated Whitney Hermandorfer last week to serve on the Appeals Court for the Sixth Circuit. Hermandorfer is the director of the strategic litigation unit in the office of the Tennessee Attorney General. She has been both a law clerk to Supreme Court Justices Samuel A. Alito and Amy Coney Barrett and Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of then the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, according to a document provided to the Caller.

The president also nominated Joshua M. Divine, of Missouri, to serve as judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and Western District of Missouri on Wednesday. Divine is the solicitor general for Missouri and director of special litigation in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Previously, Divine served as chief counsel to Republican Sen. Josh Hawley.

🚨 Daily Caller White House Correspondent @reaganreese_ asks Press Secretary about timeline of Trump’s judicial appointments, WATCH: pic.twitter.com/lFDL78HRd4

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 17, 2025

Also to serve on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Trump nominated Zachary M. Bluestone. He is currently an appellate chief and a violent crimes prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri. Bluestone was previously deputy solicitor general.

Maria A. Lanahan was also nominated by the president Wednesday to serve on the Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Lanahan is principal deputy solicitor general in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office. Lanahan previously served as senior manager and litigation counsel for Charter Communications, Inc.

Also appointed to the Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is Cristian M. Stevens, who is on the Missouri Eastern District Court of Appeals. Stevens was previously the deputy attorney general of the Criminal Division in the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

Trump also nominated Edward Aloysius O’Connell on Wednesday to serve as associate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He is chief of staff and deputy general counsel of the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. Over the last two decades, O’Connell served as a prosecutor in the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.