USA Today: Trump nominees for judgeships face scrutiny of youth, lack of experience
This excerpt is from a piece that originally ran on June 4, 2025.
Of the five lawyers who were scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for their confirmation hearings Wednesday, only one, Cristian Stevens, is a sitting judge. Hermandorfer specializes in appeals for the Tennessee attorney general. Joshua Devine and Maria Lanahan work for the Missouri attorney general, and Zachary Bluestone works for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
The liberal group Alliance for Justice opposes the nomination of Divine, for example, to be U.S. District Court judge for the eastern and western districts of Missouri. He’s currently the solicitor general of Missouri, who earned his law degree in 2016. He’s challenged former President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness programs, and defended restrictions on abortion and transgender health. The group also opposes Bluestone, who finished his law degree in 2016.