Another Texan tapped for 5th Circuit court
Abbott staffer ‘fits the mold’ of administration
President Donald Trump announced Monday he will nominate another Texan and a top staffer to Gov. Greg Abbott to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Trump nominee is Andrew Oldham, who is currently Abbott’s general counsel, a position he’s held for just a month. Before his appointment to the governor’s office, he was the state’s deputy solicitor general.
The New Orleans-based federal appeals court handles cases referred from lower courts in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. If confirmed, Oldham would fill the vacancy left by Edward Prado, a 5th Circuit judge Trump has nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Argentina — and some critics expressed dismay that Oldham, who is white, would replace the only remaining Hispanic judge on the 5th Circuit.
‘An excellent choice’
Trump recently picked two other Texans to sit on the 5th Circuit: former Texas Supreme Court Justice Don Willett and former Texas Solicitor General James Ho were both confirmed to the bench in December.
Like Ho, Oldham has never served as a judge. He previously — among other roles — was an attorney at a private law firm in Washington, D.C., a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, and legal counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. He earned a degree from Harvard Law School in 2005.
Abbott tweeted the announcement Monday afternoon, calling Trump’s pick “an excellent choice of a strict construction constitutionalist.”
Both Texas senators issued statements Monday praising Oldham’s nomination and calling for a swift confirmation.
“Andy is a dedicated public servant who has spent a career defending Texas and the Constitution,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “His expertise and commitment to the rule of law will make him a strong addition to the bench, and I look forward to his speedy confirmation in the Senate.”
To be confirmed, Oldham will require the support of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, then the full Senate.
Lena Zwarensteyn, director of strategic engagement at the American Constitution Society in Washington, D.C., has followed Trump’s judicial nominations carefully. She was not surprised to see Oldham named for the appeals court post.
“He fits the mold, honestly, for the type of nominees that this administration in particular is looking for,” she said — conservative, white, male and willing to push forward the president’s agenda. “If you had to put up a profile for what this administration wants out of the courts, then I think this nomination makes a lot of sense to them.”
‘De-diversifying’
Furthermore, Zwarensteyn said, the 5th Circuit deals with cases in a racially diverse region, so it’s significant that the court’s only remaining Hispanic judge has just been replaced by a white man. In recent years, the 17-member court had three Hispanic judges.
“The administration seems to be actively de-diversifying the federal court,” Zwarensteyn said. “The vast number of white men who have been nominated — young white men — is going to really change the composition of the court,” both now and for decades to come.