President Donald Trump announced on Thursday the nominations of Jesus Osete and Philip Axt to federal district court judgeships. Osete, a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is nominated for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, while Axt, the solicitor general of North Dakota, is nominated to serve on the federal court in his state.
The nominations come as the Trump administration seeks to fill judicial vacancies before the November 3 midterm elections. Earlier in the week, the president announced nine other district court nominees in states led by Republican administrations. The current Republican-led Senate is responsible for the confirmation process for these life-tenured positions.
Jesus Osete currently serves as the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the DOJ. In this role, he has been involved in litigation regarding gun rights, diversity initiatives, and voting maps. He previously served as Missouri's deputy solicitor general and represented several states in a 2022 Supreme Court case challenging a federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers at facilities treating Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Philip Axt serves as the solicitor general for North Dakota. In his announcement, Trump noted that Axt has litigated several cases on behalf of the state, including legal challenges to policies enacted during the administration of President Joe Biden. The specific seat Axt would fill was not detailed in the report, though Osete is slated to replace U.S. District Judge David Gregory Kays, who is leaving active service.
The scale of the judicial push is significant, with 11 total nominations announced this week for federal district courts. For Osete, the nomination follows his work at the DOJ Civil Rights Division, where he participated in efforts to block California's electoral maps and sought to prevent the counting of certain mail-in ballots. If confirmed, his judicial philosophy would transition from legal advocacy to presiding over cases brought by individuals and businesses in the Western District of Missouri, affecting how federal law is applied to millions of residents.
The timing of these nominations is critical due to the upcoming November 3 midterm elections, which could change the partisan control of the U.S. Senate. A shift in control would likely alter the confirmation prospects for these and future nominees. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which includes Missouri Senators Eric Schmitt (R) and Josh Hawley (R), will next hold hearings to vet the nominees before a full Senate vote can occur. No specific dates for these hearings or votes were reported.