Trump Nominates James Sullivan, the Texas Supreme Court Justice Voters Just Removed, to the Federal Bench in Austin
Sullivan lost his Place 2 seat to Chari Kelly, 52.3 to 47.7, on November 3. His nomination to the Western District of Texas is now official — and its clock runs against a Senate that changes hands on January 3.
AUSTIN — A week after Texas voters removed him from the state's highest civil court, James Sullivan has a new court in his future — a federal one, in this city, for life. President Donald Trump has officially nominated Sullivan, the outgoing Texas Supreme Court justice, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, The Texas Lawbook reported Wednesday, in a late judicial push that pairs him with Justice Department official T. Elliot Gaiser, nominated the same day to the Northern District of Texas.
Sullivan, 45, was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in January 2025 by Gov. Greg Abbott to fill a vacancy, Reuters reported, and asked voters for a full term on November 3. He lost to Democrat Chari Kelly, 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent, as Democrats swept the statewide ballot. Reuters reported on November 5 that the Senate Judiciary Committee had already received the paperwork to consider him for the Austin seat, and that in his Senate questionnaire Sullivan described his candidacy to retain the state seat as 'unsuccessful.' The White House and Sullivan did not immediately respond to requests for comment in that report.
The timing is the story as much as the name. Federal judges serve life terms, and this nomination lands in a lame-duck window: Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate last week, and Texas's senator-elect, James Talarico, is sworn in on January 3, The Texas Lawbook noted. Under the Senate's blue-slip practice, Talarico could block Texas judicial nominees who are not confirmed before the new Senate sits — which gives the outgoing majority a hard deadline and the nominee a fast calendar.
Trump has pressed the point publicly, saying in a Truth Social post that it was 'very important' for the Senate to confirm all pending nominees, including judicial selections, Bloomberg Law reported. Whether Sullivan's nomination gets its hearing and vote inside the window is now a Senate scheduling question; the seat itself, if he is confirmed, is the Western District courtroom in Austin — a few blocks from the state court that Texas voters just voted him out of.
