President Donald Trump has announced nine new nominees for federal district court vacancies across six states, making another push to reshape the federal judiciary as the November midterm elections draw closer.
The nominees would serve in Oklahoma, Alaska, Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Florida — states where Republicans currently hold political power. If confirmed, each would receive a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.
Trump announced the selections in a series of posts on Truth Social. But with the Senate’s calendar tightening ahead of the November 3 elections, the nominees may face a lengthy wait before receiving full Senate confirmation votes. Democrats are hoping to win control of the chamber, potentially leaving the nominations to be considered during the post-election lame-duck session.
One of the more closely watched selections is Zach West, a senior official in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office who has been nominated for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Trump described West as a strong defender of the Constitution, religious freedom and the rule of law.
West has represented Oklahoma in several high-profile legal disputes. He previously challenged the Biden administration’s decision to withhold federal family-planning funds from the state after Oklahoma stopped referrals to pregnancy counseling services that could provide abortion-related information.
He also played a role in Oklahoma’s controversial effort to permit religious charter schools to receive taxpayer funding.
In 2022, West joined then-Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor in arguing that a state law preventing religious schools from participating in the charter-school system was unconstitutional. The position later became part of an effort by two Catholic dioceses to create what would have been the country’s first publicly funded religious charter school.
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected that effort in May 2025, leaving in place an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that found the arrangement conflicted with constitutional restrictions on government involvement in religion.
Trump’s Oklahoma selections also include Trevor Pemberton, a former Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals judge and former general counsel to Governor Kevin Stitt. He has been nominated for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
In Alaska, Trump has nominated U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle Reardon to fill a seat that has remained vacant for two years.
The vacancy followed the resignation of former U.S. District Judge Joshua Kindred, whom Trump appointed during his first presidency. Kindred stepped down in 2024 after a judicial investigation found that he had engaged in an inappropriate sexualized relationship with a law clerk and contributed to a hostile workplace.
The Texas nominees are Courtney Coker, a federal prosecutor selected for the Northern District of Texas, and Richard Bennett, a magistrate judge and former official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, selected for the Southern District.
Trump’s remaining choices include Brad Kelley, a partner at law firm Littler Mendelson, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Mansfield for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Daniel Ballou, a state judge in Kentucky, has been nominated for the Eastern District of Kentucky, while Robert Long, a judge on Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, has been selected for the Middle District of Florida.
The nominations add to Trump’s effort to leave a lasting imprint on the federal judiciary. But whether the Senate can move quickly enough to confirm the latest group could depend heavily on the outcome of the November elections.
