Some news: I've moved to the education beat, writing mostly for our @bgov.com audience about federal education policy and the Education Department's dismantling Policy wonks, gov affairs folks, ex-ED officials: would love to chat! Email & signal in my bio

Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the Sixth Circuit plans to step away from active status, handing President Donald Trump a rare appellate vacancy to fill as judges have been slow to retire in his second presidency news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

President Donald Trump plans to nominate his personal attorney, Justin Smith, to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, along with three trial court picks for Kansas.

The Washington, DC judge was targeted by a barrage of violent and misogynist threats after her ruling preserving Temporary Protected Status for Haiti earlier this month. One message said “the best way you can help America is to eat a bullet,” Judge Ana C. Reyes shared in a hearing Thursday.

NEW: President Donald Trump plans to nominate Sheria Clarke, a former assistant US attorney, for a federal judgeship in South Carolina--one of only a few Black women he’s tapped for the federal bench across his two presidential terms so far news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The Senate has stepped up confirmations of President Trump’s judicial nominees, as just a handful remain in the pipeline with the administration slow to announce new picks. Trump 1.0 made 71 lower court nominations by this point v. Trump 2.0's 38 so far news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

NEW: NEW: US appeals judge Rebecca Taibleson advised her uncle, who faced sexual misconduct allegations, prior to her appointment by President Trump, according to materials released related to DOJ's investigation of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein 1/2 news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

ICYMI: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has recommended a former assistant US attorney and longtime congressional aide to be the first Black woman nominated for a federal judgeship in President Donald Trump’s second term

SCOOP: Tim Scott recommended Trump nominate Sheria Clarke, a former federal prosecutor and ex-House aide under then-Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), for a federal judgeship in South Carolina, per 2 sources familiar W/ @zachccohen.bsky.social news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Sen. Kennedy voted to advance Justin Olson, tapped for a US district judgeship in Indiana, who he'd grilled on his past religious sermons. Following a meeting with Olson, Kennedy said he's now "convinced" he wouldn't rule based on his personal views news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

***This new appointment has to be confirmed by the Florida Senate. Details matter!

Well that’s that: John Guard’s been appointed to another Florida state court by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The White House has to pick another nominee for the Middle District of Florida, after they didn’t renew Guard’s nomination in the new year.

Sen. KENNEDY tells me he's now "very comfortable" with Trump's judicial nominee who he grilled about his past religious sermons, after a follow up meeting with him. He plans to support him at tomorrow's markup: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

As of last night, John Guard tells me that he hasn't withdrawn his name for the Middle District of Florida and isn't aware that the White House has dropped his nomination. He's simultaneously a nominee for a spot on Florida's Supreme Court. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Also in this report: Trump’s so far renominated all his judicial picks who didn’t make it across the finish line last year—except John Guard for the Middle District of Florida. It follows him being subpoenaed for an investigation into a Gov. DeSantis-linked charity

References to the late Justice Antonin Scalia spiked during Supreme Court oral arguments this year, highlighting his lasting influence on how the court interprets the law.

Chuck Grassley's handling of watchdog firings illustrates how he's strayed from the fierce independence he has long placed at the center of his public persona, legal veterans, some former allies, and fellow lawmakers say, @tianaheadley.bsky.social reports news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

NEW: Sen. Chuck Grassley has long been a lawmaker presidents couldn't afford to ignore. But critics say he's had a more tepid response to Trump's aggressive assertion of power this year, including the mass purge of watchdogs Grassley has long championed. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Kennedy asked Justin Olson, a nominee to an Indiana district court seat about a 2022 sermon he gave in which he referred to “transgenderism, homosexuality, fornication, and all sorts of sexual perversions.”

Sen. John Kennedy pressed a Trump judicial nominees about his religious views based on sermons and teachings he gave as a church elder that covered topics such as premarital sex in Christianity and women in Christian marriage, @tianaheadley.bsky.social reports news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

NEW: Alaska's 2 GOP senators stand by their respective approaches for vetting contenders for federal judgeships. But Sen. Murkowski said the 2 processes aren't competitors--just paths contenders can choose themselves: "It’s two options, let’s put it that way." news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Witness statements are in for tomorrow's Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on "Impeachment: Holding Rogue Judges Accountable." Will Chamberlain: georgetown.box.com/s/w60foecfro... Rob Luther: georgetown.box.com/s/21ugst1e58... Me: georgetown.box.com/s/4tmr2fhnj3... Show starts at 2:30 ET:

Demand Justice is spending over $1 million to expand its offensive against Senate Democrats who vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

“Why would I recuse myself from voting for someone who I think would be terrific?” Sen. Josh Hawley told Bloomberg Law's @tianaheadley.bsky.social

NEW: US District Judge Sarah Pitlyk and Jesus Osete of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division are on a White House list of candidates interviewing for an 8th Circuit seat, per source familiar Litigator Erin Hawley, Sen. Hawley's spouse, also expressed interest news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said from the dais this morning to the 4 Mississippi nominees he'd blocked that their records weren't at issue. He voted to advance all 4 out of committee later--he and Sen. Wicker had "bridged the gap" on their differences news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley said before this morning's markup that they'd be voting on the Mississippi district nominees that have seen weekslong delays in committee--same for the US attorney picks. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) is in the audience too. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has been holding up Trump’s Mississippi judicial nominees as leverage in negotiations with Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). Tillis wants federal recognition for the Lumbee tribe in his state in the final defense bill news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

NEW: Sen. Thom Tillis (R), Senate Judiciary member, tells me he and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi have been negotiating on some "minor issues" unrelated to the records of the 4 nominees in the state. Wouldn't elaborate further. Says he "wouldn't expect them to be on hold for very long."

President Donald Trump’s nominees for federal judgeships and chief prosecutors in Mississippi are caught up in a dispute between a key Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the state’s senators.

The Senate Judiciary Committee again delayed votes on 2 district court nominees in Mississippi who’ve struggled for over a month to advance out of the GOP-led panel, without public explanation news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The Senate Judiciary Committee was supposed to hold a markup this morning for some Mississippi judicial and US attorney nominees. But Chairman Chuck Grassley (R) told me several are having "trouble" making it to a vote.

NEW: Sen. GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) tells me that James Maxwell and Robert Chamberlin, both Mississippi justices, are having some “trouble” within the GOP-led panel. They’ve now delayed votes on their district court nominations five times in the past five weeks news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Democrat Tammy Baldwin opposed Rebecca Taibleson’s nomination to a Wisconsin 7th Circuit seat today, as she faced angering progressives or rejecting the bipartisan process that yielded the nomination news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

This is the first time a Trump judicial nominee this term has gotten a significant portion of the Democratic caucus to back their nomination, as progressives have put Senate Democrats on notice about doing that: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Reagan appointed judges are emerging as vocal critics of the Trump administration’s efforts to circumvent court orders or challenge the law in unprecedented ways, @jacqthomsen.bsky.social and Brian Dowling report news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Demand Justice is back, and they’ve put Senate Democrats on notice about supporting Trump’s judicial nominees. This week they expanded their media blitz against select Senate Judiciary Dems who voted to advance Trump district court picks: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The Senate confirmed Jennifer Mascott, a Trump White House lawyer and administrative law scholar, to an appeals court judgeship in Delaware despite criticism of her limited ties to the state news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New from me: Federal judicial nominees usually assume a lower profile during their vetting. But Jennifer Mascot, a lawyer in the Trump White House Counsel's office, has been active on social media and most recently shared a stage with Justice Clarence Thomas: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New from me: There's no urgency for Wisconsin's Sen. Tammy Baldwin to make her position known on President Donald Trump’s appeals court pick to serve in her state. But it won't be an easy decision for the Midwest Democrat to make. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Rebecca Taibleson is set to appear before the SJC this AM regarding her 7th circuit nomination. Conservatives are divided on whether she’s conservative enough to earn an appointment to the federal bench⬇️ news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Sen. WELCH told me that Kyle Dudek is the “needle in the haystack—a competent nominee by the Trump administration.” Welch, a Democrat, voted to confirm Dudek to a Florida district court last night. He’s the first Dem to vote in favor of a Trump II judge pick news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New: The pace of federal judges announcing their retirements is picking up after a lull in the early months of President Donald Trump’s second term. Whether it's a blip or a true turnaround remains to be seen: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Diversity didn’t seem to be a primary concern for President Trump in filling judicial vacancies during his first term, and he hasn’t indicated that would change, @tianaheadley.bsky.social reports news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

NEW: President Trump is still nominating lawyers with Federalist Society ties for the federal bench, but this time he's prioritized an even younger crop of battle-tested conservatives who can serve well beyond his presidency. Here's the breakdown so far: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

A federal appeals court nominee faced questions about her views on Supreme Court precedent at the center of Donald Trump’s efforts to expand presidential authority over the firing of independent agency officials.

"Unhelpful and unnecessary" The US judge who blocked the Trump administration from cutting off billions in federal funding from Harvard included some strong words for Justice Neil Gorsuch -- a sign of mounting frustrations running up and down the judiciary www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US District Judge David Godbey of the Northern District of Texas will take senior status next month, handing President Donald Trump another seat to fill on the Dallas-based court.

Wrote about this earlier this year, basically what we could expect from Trump on judicial nominees: lots of Republican state SGs or affiliated lawyers. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

President Donald Trump’s selection of Mascott, a law professor working in the White House Counsel’s office who isn’t licensed to practice law in Delaware, attracted criticism from both of the state’s Democratic senators, who say she has few ties to the state or the legal community there