Today President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate an eleventh wave of judicial nominees as follows:

If confirmed, Mark J. Bennett of Hawaiʻi will serve as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mark Bennett is a director in the Honolulu firm Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher, where he has practiced complex civil and appellate litigation and government relations since joining the firm in 2011. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Bennett spent almost eight years as the Attorney General of Hawaiʻi, and was twice unanimously confirmed to that position by the Hawaiʻi Senate. During his tenure as Attorney General, Mr. Bennett successfully argued two cases in the Supreme Court of the United States, was inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, and earned both the Department of Justice National Leadership Award and the Hawaiʻi Law Enforcement Elwood J. McGuire Award for Contributions to Law Enforcement. Before he was appointed Attorney General, Mr. Bennett spent a dozen years practicing complex civil and appellate litigation at the Honolulu firm of McCorriston Miller Mukai MacKinnon LLP. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Bennett spent seven years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Hawaiʻi. During this period, he earned a Special Achievement Award from the Attorney General of the United States. Shortly after graduating from law school, Mr. Bennett served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Samuel P. King of the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi. Mr. Bennett has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law. Mr. Bennett earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Union College, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served on the board of editors of the Cornell Law Review.

If confirmed, Andrew S. Oldham of Texas will serve as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Andrew Oldham currently serves as General Counsel to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, where he advises the Governor on a range of issues under federal and state law and manages litigation in which the Governor is an interested party. Mr. Oldham previously served as Deputy Solicitor General for the State of Texas, where he represented Texas in federal courts across the country, including twice before the United States Supreme Court. Before that, Mr. Oldham was an attorney at Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick in Washington, D.C. His practice focused on appellate litigation in federal courts of appeals throughout the country. Before entering private practice, Mr. Oldham served as a law clerk to Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., at the Supreme Court of the United States and to Judge David B. Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He also worked as an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2006 to 2008. Mr. Oldham earned a B.A. from the University of Virginia with highest honors, a Truman Scholarship for graduate school, an M. Phil., first class (with distinction), from Cambridge University, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School.

If confirmed, Michael Y. Scudder, Jr., of Illinois will serve as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Mike Scudder is a partner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he has practiced complex civil litigation and white collar defense in the Chicago office since 2009. Before joining Skadden, Mr. Scudder spent two years in the White House Counsel’s Office serving as associate counsel and then as senior associate counsel to the President and legal advisor and general counsel to the National Security Council. Before serving the President, Mr. Scudder spent four years at the United States Department of Justice; first, as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and later as Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General on a national security team. Before joining the Department of Justice, Mr. Scudder practiced for two years in the Cleveland office of Jones Day. Upon graduation from law school, Mr. Scudder clerked for Judge Paul V. Niemeyer of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States. Since 2009, Mr. Scudder has served as an adjunct professor of trial advocacy at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, and since 2013, he has served as a lecturer in law on national security and criminal law at the University of Chicago Law School. Mr. Scudder earned his B.B.A. from Saint Joseph’s College, where he was co-valedictorian, and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as editor in chief of the Northwestern University Law Review.

If confirmed, Amy J. St. Eve of Illinois will serve as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Judge Amy J. St. Eve serves as U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois, where she has served since her confirmation by the U.S. Senate and appointment by President George W. Bush in 2002. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where she teaches trial advocacy. Immediately before ascending to the bench, Judge St. Eve served as senior counsel for litigation at Abbott Laboratories. Before joining Abbott Labs, Judge St. Eve served for five years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Judge St. Eve served for two years as an associate independent counsel for the Whitewater Independent Counsel investigation in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she second chaired the successful prosecution of former Governor Jim Guy Tucker, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal for fraud. Before joining the Whitewater team, Judge St. Eve was a litigation associate in the New York City office of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. Judge St. Eve earned her B.A. from Cornell University and her J.D., magna cum laude, from Cornell Law School, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as an articles editor on the Cornell Law Review.

If confirmed, Nancy E. Brasel of Minnesota will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Judge Nancy Brasel serves as a Minnesota State District Court Judge for the Fourth Judicial District, where she has served since she was appointed to the bench by Governor Dayton in 2011. Over the last seven years, she has presided over cases in the juvenile, adult criminal, and civil divisions. Prior to her appointment, she spent three years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota, where she prosecuted over 80 defendants for narcotics, firearms, and financial crimes. Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Judge Brasel was a partner at Greene Espel, P.L.L.P., where her practice focused on business and employment litigation. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Brasel served as a law clerk to Judge Donald P. Lay, a Minnesota-based judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Judge Brasel earned her B.A. from Trinity University, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, her M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota, where she was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as a managing editor of the Minnesota Law Review.

If confirmed, Thomas S. Kleeh of West Virginia will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. Tom Kleeh is a member of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, where he has practiced as a litigator in the firm’s labor and employment group representing private and public sector clients for the last nineteen years. During that time, Mr. Kleeh has litigated hundreds of employment law and general litigation matters before Federal and State courts and administrative agencies. Since 2015, Mr. Kleeh has also served as staff counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee of the West Virginia Senate, where he has presented legislation and advised the Senate on a wide range of issues. Mr. Kleeh earned his B.S.B.A. from West Virginia University graduating summa cum laude and his J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif, and served as editor in chief of the West Virginia Law Review.

If confirmed, Peter J. Phipps of Pennsylvania will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Peter Phipps currently serves as senior trial counsel in the Federal Programs Branch of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. During his 14-year tenure at the Justice Department, Mr. Phipps has litigated some of the most significant cases implicating the interests of the United States and has received numerous awards and commendations, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award. Earlier in his career, Mr. Phipps spent three years as an associate at Jones Day, where his practice focused on civil litigation. He also served as a law clerk to Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Mr. Phipps earned both a B.S. in physics and a B.A. in history from the University of Dayton, summa cum laude, and earned his J.D. from Stanford Law School, where he served as the managing editor of the Stanford Law & Policy Review.

If confirmed, Eric C. Tostrud of Minnesota will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Eric Tostrud is Of Counsel with Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., and serves on the full-time faculty at Mitchell Hamline School of Law as the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence. He teaches in the areas of federal jurisdiction and federal-court procedure. During his 26 years with the firm, Mr. Tostrud has maintained a complex commercial litigation practice almost exclusively in federal court, with emphasis in the areas of complex insurance coverage, health care litigation, and ERISA. Earlier in his career, Mr. Tostrud served as a law clerk to Judge George E. MacKinnon of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and to Judge Edward J. Devitt of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Mr. Tostrud earned his B.A. from St. Olaf College and his J.D., summa cum laude, from the William Mitchell College of Law.

If confirmed, C.J. Williams of Iowa will serve as a District Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Judge C.J. Williams serves as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of Iowa. Prior to his appointment in 2016, Judge Williams served for 19 years as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa, where he handled complex criminal and civil cases, and tried more than 50 felony cases to jury verdict. From 2008 through 2016, Judge Williams served as the senior litigation counsel, where he was responsible for all training and supervising all Assistant United States Attorneys in the Northern District of Iowa. From 2010 through 2011, Judge Williams served a one-year detail to the Capital Case Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, where he tried death penalty cases across the country. Prior to joining the United States Attorney’s Office in 1997, Judge Williams practiced privately for five years in Kansas City, Missouri. Before entering private practice, Judge Williams spent three years handling criminal cases on behalf of the Department of Justice, including a one-year detail to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Williams served as a law clerk to the late Chief Judge Donald E. O’Brien of the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa. Judge Williams earned his B.B.A., with high distinction, from the University of Iowa, his J.D., with high distinction, from the University of Iowa College of Law, and his L.L.M., with an emphasis in criminal law, from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.