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Senate Confirms Trump’s First Second-Term Pick to Sixth Circuit

The narrow vote underscores GOP’s push to remake the federal bench with nearly 50 vacancies still awaiting votes.

FILE - Whitney Hermandorfer of the Tennessee Attorney General's Office speaks before a panel of judges, April 4, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, talks after a policy luncheon on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) holds a press conference following the GOP weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 9, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

Overview

  • The Senate approved Whitney Hermandorfer 46-42 along party lines for a lifetime seat on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, making her the first confirmed judge of President Trump’s second term.
  • Hermandorfer led the Tennessee attorney general’s strategic litigation unit, defended policies like ending birthright citizenship and clerked for Justices Alito, Barrett and Kavanaugh.
  • Senate Democrats questioned her limited courtroom experience and ideological record, while Republicans praised her academic achievements and constitutionalist approach.
  • Her confirmation ties President Trump’s second-term judicial total to Joe Biden’s 235 appointments and reduces the overall vacancies to 49.
  • GOP leaders in the Senate plan to advance additional appeals and district court nominees in the coming weeks to reshape the federal judiciary further.