President Donald Trump has nominated Eric Hamilton, a sixth-generation Nebraskan currently working inside the Justice Department, to fill an upcoming vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska. The pick drew quick praise from both of Nebraska's U.S. senators, who say they personally recommended Hamilton for the lifetime post.
Trump announced the nomination on Monday, writing, “I am pleased to nominate Eric Hamilton to serve as Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska,” according to a post on trumpstruth.org. The president also described Hamilton as a sixth-generation Nebraskan in that same statement. As Chadron Radio reported, the nomination is meant to fill an upcoming vacancy on the court.
Sen. Deb Fischer said she was proud to have put Hamilton's name forward. “I was proud to recommend his nomination to President Trump and look forward to supporting him through the Senate confirmation process,” she said, per Nebraska Public Media. She also said Hamilton's legal career reflects integrity, sound judgment, and a commitment to the rule of law, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
A Career Built in Nebraska, Texas and the White House
Hamilton currently serves as deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Civil Division Federal Programs Branch, a post he has held since 2025. Before that, per the same Nebraska Examiner account, he worked as an associate counsel to the president in the Office of White House Counsel during the first Trump administration.
He also previously served as solicitor general of Nebraska and, earlier in his career, as an assistant solicitor general for the Texas attorney general's office, according to Stanford Law School's alumni publication. Sen. Pete Ricketts said that stretch left a mark. “Hamilton served Nebraska with integrity as solicitor general,” Ricketts said, adding that Hamilton “has dedicated his career to public service and demonstrated a strong commitment to the rule of law,” per Nebraska Public Media. Ricketts said he supports Hamilton's nomination and is confident Hamilton will bring those same principles to his next role.
Hamilton practiced law in Washington, D.C., and his academic record includes a law degree from Stanford Law School, where he wrote for the Stanford Law Review, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He clerked for Judge Thomas M. Hardiman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, a judge Trump's statement called “highly respected.”
Nebraska Officials Weigh In
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers also congratulated Hamilton on the nomination, according to the Nebraska Examiner. Fischer said she believes Hamilton served Nebraska with distinction and expressed confidence he will continue that record on the federal bench.
The nomination now heads toward the Senate confirmation process, which under the constitutional framework requires the advice and consent of the Senate before a nominee can take the bench, according to a statement on Fischer's Senate website. No hearing date or confirmation timeline has been reported.
Part of a Broader Pattern of Nominees
Hamilton's selection fits a pattern that Bloomberg Law says has defined Trump's judicial picks: the president has frequently tapped current and former state solicitors general to fill judicial vacancies. At the time of that report, 18 of Trump's nominees to the federal bench were pending; Benjamin Flowers had been confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that year, while Philip Axt's nomination to the District of North Dakota remained pending.
