Trump's Judicial Nominee from Tennessee Highly Likely to Be Confirmed, Brandon Smith Says

Brandon Smith, former chief of staff to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, said Whitney Hermandorfer, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, expects to be confirmed without obstruction, given her remarkable background and credentials.

Earlier this month, Trump marked the first judicial appointment of his second term by nominating Hermandorfer, who works in the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General as director of the Strategic Litigation Unit.

Trump’s nomination of Hermandorfer comes as U.S. Circuit Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch – an Obama appointee – announced her plan earlier this year to step down from active service on the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and take senior status.

Prior to heading the Strategic Litigation Unit in Tennessee, Hermandorfer worked at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C., and clerked for then-Judge Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit and Judge Richard Leon on the U.S. District Court for D.C. before going on to clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Smith, who worked with Hermandorfer (pictured above) in Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office, said the president’s nomination demonstrates how he is “continuing to uphold his promise to appoint steadfast defenders of the Constitution to the bench,” considering Hermandorfer’s remarkable qualifications.

“Honestly, I think this might be a relatively easy confirmation process for Whitney. She is one of the most qualified judges he could have picked anywhere in the country…It signals that they’re taking the appointment process very seriously once again and putting some stellar people on the bench,” Smith said on Friday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

“Whitney has what has to be just one of the most remarkable careers of any lawyer that I’ve known or heard of…Whitney has clerked for a third of the U.S. Supreme Court at this point, which is pretty remarkable,” Smith added.

In Tennessee, Smith praised Hermandorfer’s work heading the Strategic Litigation Unit, where she handles some of the “most difficult and complex” cases.

“Whitney’s background for the state of Tennessee was the chief ‘sue the Feds person’ for us for a while. Some of the most complex cases we had, some of the most difficult cases we had both from a political perspective, just touchy, sensitive, important issues to things that were just really legally complex, but maybe not as exciting for the news coverage, things that were just legally complicated and required rigorous work and Whitney just did a wonderful job with all of it and continues to do a wonderful job with it,” Smith said.

Regarding Hermandorfer’s confirmation process by the U.S. Senate for the role, Smith said he believes her nomination will move through unobstructed and may even gain some Democratic support.

“I think Whitney’s confirmation likelihood is really high. She has the background and credentials that you would dream of in a nominee…I think she’s going to win over a lot of senators who are going to quickly realize that she is whip smart, incredibly kind and humble, and takes her role as an attorney and as a judge very seriously,” Smith said.

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— MichaelPatrick Leahy (@michaelpleahy) May 9, 2025