Senate Panel Takes Up Second Judge Pick Who Ruled for Trump (1)

A US Senate panel is considering a nominee who’s the second judge from a Florida state appeals court tapped for the federal bench after ruling for Donald Trump in a defamation case last year.

Jeff Kuntz was scheduled to appear before the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday where he’d likely face scrutiny from Democrats over his decision to not recuse from the case even as he vied for a lifetime judicial appointment.

Kuntz, the chief judge on Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals, wrote the February 2025 ruling that allowed Trump’s suit against the Pulitzer Prize Board to proceed. Trump claims the board defamed him by refusing to rescind awards for media outlets reporting on Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election.

“Confirming Kuntz’s nomination would further normalize the erosion of judicial independence and continue to signal to the public that loyalty to a president matters more than a judge’s own compliance with the rule of law,” Rachel Rossi, president of the progressive Alliance for Justice, said in a letter to the Senate opposing Kuntz’s nomination. Progressive advocacy group People for the American Way, in a separate letter, also urged that the panel not confirm Kuntz.

Trump said in selecting Kuntz that he’s “highly respected” and has “demonstrated his commitment to the rule of law” and would defend the Constitution.

Kuntz spoke with Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) office in November 2024 regarding his interest in a seat on the federal bench, according to his Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire. Kuntz said in the questionnaire that he then was contacted and interviewed by the White House the following February. That same month he authored the decision for the Fourth District Court of Appeals allowing Trump’s suit against the Pulitzer board to proceed.

The White House didn’t contact or interview Kuntz until after the decision had been issued, a Senate Judiciary Committee spokesperson said.

Trump announced his nomination to the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on April 1 of this year.

Ed Artau, who also sat on the Fourth District Court and wrote a separate concurrence in Trump’s case, was confirmed to the Southern District in September 2025.

Artau said he followed all ethics requirements in participating in the case, but the timing of his communications with the Senate and White House about the job also raised questions among Democrats about his impartiality and the selection process.

Other recent court picks have also generated concerns from Democrats about judicial independence. Trump selected three of his personal lawyers for circuit seats.