Newest Texas High Court Member Seeks Austin Federal Judgeship

Justice James Sullivan, the newest member of the Supreme Court of Texas, has applied and interviewed to become a US district court judge in Austin, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.

Sullivan’s consideration for the federal bench comes less than four months after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appointed him to the state’s highest civil appeals court in January.

In recent weeks, Sullivan signaled his intention to stay on the Supreme Court long term by campaigning for Texas’ Republican primary in March 2026. The election is for a full, six-year term. As a federal judge, he’d have the job permanently and wouldn’t run for reelection.

The federal judgeship in Austin, Texas’s capital, is one of the most coveted in the state. Liberal litigants often file federal challenges there to conservative policies put in place by state officials like Abbott.

Sullivan previously served as general counsel in Abbott’s office, carrying out the governor’s aggressive immigration enforcement plan. He also vetted the governor’s judicial appointments.

Sullivan and an Abbott spokesperson both didn’t respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Abbott must already fill one vacancy on the Supreme Court following the expected retirement of Justice Jeff Boyd this summer.

Other candidates who have interviewed for the Austin judgeship are Andrew Davis, a former chief counsel for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Richard Farrer, a US magistrate judge in San Antonio, according to one person familiar with the process. Dustin Howell, a US magistrate judge in Austin, also interviewed for the seat, two people familiar with the matter said.

None of those applicants immediately returned requests for comment.

The candidates were interviewed by the Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee, a bipartisan panel of attorneys stood up by Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). The lawyers interview candidates for federal judgeships and open US attorney slots in the state. Top candidates are chosen by the senators, who work with the White House on making a formal nomination for those positions.

The committee has also interviewed candidates for an open federal judgeship in Waco. They include US magistrate Judge Derek Gilliland, who already sits in that courthouse, according to two people familiar with the matter.

US magistrate Judge Bill Davis, who currently sits in Plano, also interviewed for the Waco seat, according to two people familiar with the matter. Davis declined to comment.

Those people said a third candidate who interviewed for the Waco slot is Ryan Bangert, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom and a former top aide to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) who joined other office deputies in making a criminal complaint against Paxton. Bangert was a key prosecution witness in Paxton’s 2023 impeachment trial in the Texas Senate.

Gilliland and Bangert didn’t immediately return requests for comment.

David Prichard, chairman of the FJEC, didn’t immediately return a request for comment.