Trump Confirms First Judge of Second Term, Ties Biden’s All-Time Record

President Donald Trump secured his first judicial confirmation of his second term as the U.S. Senate approved Whitney Hermandorfer to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 46-42 party-line vote gives Trump his 235th lifetime judicial appointment, tying former President Joe Biden’s total.

Hermandorfer, 38, currently serves in the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, where she led litigation supporting the state’s near-total abortion ban and opposing federal rules protecting transgender students. She becomes the first of Trump’s 15 second-term judicial nominees to gain Senate approval.

A graduate just a decade out of law school, Hermandorfer previously clerked for three conservative Supreme Court justices—Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh. Barrett and Kavanaugh were elevated to the Court during Trump’s first term, helping secure its current 6-3 conservative majority.

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Hermandorfer’s judicial philosophy, stating she represents a commitment to interpreting laws as written rather than legislating from the bench. He emphasized the GOP’s goal to fill roughly 50 judicial vacancies with constitutional conservatives.

Senate Democrats opposed the confirmation, citing her limited experience and alignment with far-right legal positions that reflect Trump’s agenda. Still, her confirmation cements Trump’s continued reshaping of the federal judiciary during his second term.

The 6th Circuit, based in Cincinnati, handles key appeals across several states, giving Hermandorfer a powerful platform to influence rulings on abortion, civil rights, and executive authority. Her lifetime appointment underscores the enduring impact of judicial selections and Trump’s push to cement conservative legal influence across America’s courts.