President Donald Trump announced on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, that he is nominating two U.S. Department of Justice lawyers to serve as federal district court judges. The nominations come as Senate Republicans prepare for a series of confirmation proceedings scheduled for late 2026 following the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Senate Republicans previously announced a plan to confirm as many judicial nominees as possible before the current Congress concludes. Democrats are seeking to gain control of the Senate in the upcoming elections.
One nominee, Eric Hamilton, currently serves as deputy assistant attorney general for the federal programs branch of the Justice Department's Civil Division. Trump nominated Hamilton to a life-tenured seat in Nebraska, noting his work defending administration policies regarding global tariffs, birthright citizenship, the deployment of National Guard troops to cities, and the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. Hamilton previously served as Nebraska’s solicitor general.
The second nominee, Joseph Falvey, is a federal prosecutor and former law clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Trump nominated Falvey to serve in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Both nominees are likely to be considered during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings scheduled for Nov. 10 and Nov. 18.
The confirmation of these nominees would affect federal court operations in Nebraska and Northern Indiana. A total of 56 judges have been confirmed by the Senate since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, including 10 on U.S. appeals courts, adding to the 234 judicial nominees confirmed during Trump’s first term. These appointments have shifted the ideological balance of the federal judiciary, which currently includes a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.
If leadership of the Senate changes following the Nov. 3 midterm elections, the White House would likely face more difficulty securing confirmations after January. The current Republican majority is attempting to finalize these lifetime appointments during the period between the election and the start of the new Congress.
The next steps for these nominees involve hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If the committee approves the nominees, they will move to the full Senate for a final confirmation vote. The Republican leadership aims to complete these votes before the current congressional term ends in late 2026. Neither the specific number of vacancies remaining nor the exact dates for final floor votes were reported.