President Trump sent five judicial nominations to the Senate, including picks for federal district courts and the D.C. Superior Court.
The nominations mark Trump’s continued effort to reshape the federal judiciary. His previous term saw over 200 judicial confirmations, fundamentally altering the courts’ ideological balance.
James Bishop of North Carolina was nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. The position carries a four-year term overseeing federal prosecutions in the state’s central region.
Bishop has been serving as interim U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina since November 12, 2025. A longtime North Carolina litigator with 29 years in complex commercial cases, Bishop previously served as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, represented portions of the district in Congress (2019–2025), and held seats in the North Carolina House, Senate, and Mecklenburg County Commission. He graduated with highest distinction from UNC-Chapel Hill (B.S. 1986) and with high honors from UNC School of Law (J.D. 1990).
Trump tapped three lawyers for federal district court judgeships.
Megan Blair Benton of Missouri was selected for the Western District of Missouri, while Brian Charles Lea of Tennessee received a nomination for the Western District of Tennessee.
Benton was born in Columbia, Missouri, in 1985, and earned her B.A. and M.A. in political science from Emory University (2007) and her J.D. from Vanderbilt University (2010). After clerking on the Los Angeles County Superior Court (2011–2012), she practiced at The Kuhlman Law Firm (2012–2014) and served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Platte County, Missouri (2014–2017; 2019–2021). Appointed to the bench in 2021, she rose from Associate Circuit Judge (2021–2023) to Circuit Judge in Missouri’s Sixth Judicial Circuit, a position she currently holds.
Brian Lea, born in Montreal, Canada, in 1983, earned his B.A. from Union University (2006) and J.D. from the University of Georgia (2009). He clerked for Eleventh Circuit Judge Edward Carnes (2009–2010) and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (2011–2012), practiced at DLA Piper and Jones Day (2010–2014, 2017–2025, rising to partner), and taught as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Georgia School of Law (2015–2017). In 2025, he was appointed Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he currently serves.
Justin R. Olson of Indiana rounds out the district court picks. He was nominated to serve on the bench of the Southern District of Indiana.
Born in Milwaukee in 1987, Olson earned a B.A. from Grove City College (2010) and a J.D. from Indiana University (2013). He clerked for Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush (2013–2015), practiced at Faegre Drinker (2015–2019), served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Indiana’s Civil Division (2019–2024), and is currently counsel at Kroger Gardis & Regas (2025–present).
The President also nominated Christopher Michael De Bono for the D.C. Superior Court. Unlike the lifetime appointments to federal courts, the Superior Court position carries a fifteen-year term.
De Bono currently serves as Senior Counsel in the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy, leading efforts on drug, firearms, violent crime, and digital-asset policy and advising senior leadership on related legislation and regulations. Previously, he was a senior attorney in the DEA’s Office of Chief Counsel, where he defended the agency in employment and appellate litigation.
Before government service, he practiced white-collar criminal defense at Ropes & Gray LLP and complex civil litigation at Pepper Hamilton LLP (now Troutman Pepper). De Bono earned his B.A. in mathematics magna cum laude from Hofstra University, his J.D. magna cum laude and Order of the Coif from The George Washington University Law School, and clerked for Judge Jose L. Linares on the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
All nominees require Senate confirmation before taking their posts. The Republican-controlled chamber has moved swiftly on Trump’s judicial picks in recent months.