Trump to Pick First Black Woman for US Judgeship in Second Term

President Donald Trump plans to nominate a former prosecutor for a federal judgeship in South Carolina, one of only a few Black women he’s tapped for the federal bench across his two presidential terms so far.

Sheria Clarke, who was previously an assistant US attorney and longtime congressional aide, is Trump’s intended choice for the lone district court vacancy in South Carolina, the president announced in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

“The Great People of South Carolina can trust Sheria to protect the integrity of our Legal System, and defend our Constitution at all costs,” Trump said in the post.

Clarke, who’s now a partner at the law firm Nelson Mullins, served three years as a line prosecutor in South Carolina’s US attorney’s office. She’s also worked for over a decade in the US House, including as staff director for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform under the leadership of Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). Scott and Gowdy have had a close friendship in their congressional careers.

Diversity didn’t seem to be a primary concern for Trump in filling judicial vacancies during his first presidency, and he hasn’t indicated that it would drive his appointment decisions this term.

He’s made 38 nominations this term. So far only one of his appointees, Bill Lewis, is Black. The Senate confirmed Lewis, a former Alabama state Supreme Court justice, to the Middle District of Alabama on Oct. 27.

He appointed two Black women to the federal bench last time, according to Federal Judicial Center data: Ada Brown for the Northern District of Texas; and Stephanie Dawkins for the Eastern District of Michigan. President Joe Biden later elevated Dawkins to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

If confirmed, Clarke would be Trump’s fourth appointment to the court that’s currently evenly split between Republican and Democratic-tapped judges. She would replace Judge Robert Bryan Harwell, a George W. Bush appointee who took senior status in 2024.

Trump also announced plans to nominate Katie Lane, who’s senior counsel for the Republican National Committee, for a seat on the US district court in Montana. Lane was previously deputy solicitor general in the state, and later an attorney at Consovoy McCarthy, according to her LinkedIn profile.