Chad Meredith is back in the judicial spotlight—this time with Donald Trump pulling the strings.
The former Kentucky solicitor general, once considered and then discarded by both Trump and later President Joe Biden, is now being tapped again for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Trump made the announcement Wednesday, praising Meredith as a “courageous Patriot” and a staunch defender of constitutional values.
Meredith, a Republican with a track record of backing abortion restrictions and conservative legal causes, previously served as chief deputy general counsel to Kentucky’s governor and clerked for a judge on the same circuit court he now aims to join. Since 2021, he’s been working as a litigation attorney in Ohio.
The nomination has already earned a round of applause from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who called Meredith “an outstanding choice” with a “distinguished record of public service.”
But this isn’t Meredith’s first brush with the federal bench. Trump had considered nominating him during his first term but ultimately dropped the plan. Later, Biden floated Meredith’s name for a different nomination—only to face swift backlash from abortion-rights supporters, leading the White House to retreat.
Now, Trump appears determined to finish what he started. Meredith is one of a dozen judicial picks Trump has rolled out during his second White House term, part of an ongoing push to leave a lasting imprint on the federal judiciary, following his first-term blitz that saw 234 judges confirmed.
This time, Trump seems unlikely to waver.
