Whitney Hermandorfer

On May 1, 2025, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Whitney Hermandorfer to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Hermandorfer currently serves as the Director of Strategic Litigation Unit in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. In this position, Hermandorfer has spearheaded attacks on Biden-era progressive policies and defended draconian Tennessee laws designed to diminish civil rights, reproductive healthcare, and LGBT equality.

Biography

Hermandorfer was born in Middle Tennessee in 1987. She earned her B.A. from Princeton University in 2009, and her J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 2015.

Legal Experience

After graduating from law school, Whitney Hermandorfer joined Williams & Connolly LLP, a large business-side law firm, where she focused on appellate and administrative litigation. She then served as a law clerk to several prominent jurists, including Justice Samuel Alito in 2018 and Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020. She also clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh—now Justice Kavanaugh—and Judge Richard Leon. After those clerkships, she rejoined Williams & Connolly LLP before taking her current position at the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.

Hermandorfer has practiced law for less than 10 years, a shocking lack of experience for an appointment to a lifetime judicial position that has the final say on most federal litigation in four states. The American Bar Association generally considers 12 years of legal experience to be the bare minimum to be considered qualified for the federal bench.