El Pasoan Schydlower confirmed by US Senate as federal judge
El Paso federal Magistrate Judge Leon Schydlower received overwhelming support from the U.S. Senate as he was confirmed as a federal district court judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Schydlower, who is currently a federal magistrate judge in the Western District of Texas, and U.S. Department of Justice Senior Attorney Advisor Ernesto Gonzalez were both easily confirmed by the U.S. Senate to take over as federal district court judges for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Schydlower received 90-8 votes in a Saturday Senate vote, while Gonzalez was confirmed by an 88-7 vote in a March 22 vote.
“A Navy veteran, current U.S. Air Force Reservist, and an experienced attorney and judge, I met with Mr. Schydlower last year to discuss this position and was heartened by his
commitment to our community as well as his qualifications and expertise,” U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing Mr. Schydlower continue his journey serving our country in this new capacity.”
Schydlower could not immediately be reached for comment.
Schydlower and Gonzalez were nominated in December to the judicial seats by U.S. President Joe Biden. He received strong support from U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, throughout the confirmation process.
In a quick confirmation process, the two nominees appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in January to answer any questions from members. The senate judiciary then voted 20-1 on each nominee during a Feb. 29 committee meeting in Washington D.C. to send them both to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
Schydlower was nominated to fill the judicial seat left vacant by the passing of longtime El Paso federal Judge Philip Ray Martinez in 2021. Gonzalez is filling a vacancy in the Del Rio area of the Western District of Texas.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas includes El Paso, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio.
Schydlower, an El Paso native and Hanks High School graduate, has served as a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas since 2015. He has decades of legal experience as a federal prosecutor, private practice attorney, and as a military attorney and judge.
He worked as a private practice lawyer from 2000 to 2015 and worked as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii from 1998 to 2000. He has served in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force as an attorney and judge for more than a decade.
Gonzalez was a senior attorney advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section. He previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas from 2000 to 2003 and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas from 2003 to 2023.