Trump Plans to Nominate Four Missouri Trial Court Judges (1)

President Donald Trump announced his first intended trial court nominees of his second term for seats in Missouri, including the state’s solicitor general.

Missouri Solicitor General Josh Divine, who previously served as chief counsel to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, is one of four planned nominees for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri unveiled by Trump on Tuesday in a Truth Social post.

“We must have Constitutionalist Judges now, more than EVER BEFORE,” Trump said in announcing the selection of Divine, a 2016 Yale Law grad.

Trump also plans to nominate Cristian Stevens, Zachary Bluestone, and Maria Lanahan, all experienced in state solicitor’s general-related roles or as federal prosecutors, to the St. Louis-based court.

“This country needs good district court judges now more than ever,” Hawley said in a statement. “We need judges that are committed to the rule of law and upholding the Constitution, and I’m ecstatic to see President Trump nominate these outstanding individuals to the federal bench.”

The district court selections that require Senate confirmation follow last week’s announcement of Trump’s first planned judicial nomination of his second term, Tennessee state litigator Whitney Hermandorfer to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The latest slate of nominees reflect Trump’s premium on young, battle tested conservative lawyers with experience as state attorneys, solicitors general, or line attorneys among them.

Stevens is a state appeals court judge who was originally appointed by Gov. Mike Parson (R), before winning election to his seat. Previously, he was first assistant attorney general in the state and an assistant US attorney in the same district he’d serve as a judge in. The 1998 University of Missouri-Columbia Law grad clerked for Pasco Bowman II of the Eighth Circuit.

Lanahan is the principal deputy solicitor general in the state. She earned her law degree in 2013 from the University of Chicago Law before clerking for Judge Raymond Gruender of the Eighth Circuit.

Bluestone is appellate chief in the US attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Missouri. He was previously a deputy solicitor general in the state.