James Sullivan didn’t stay in the job market for long.
Just a week after losing his seat on the Texas Supreme Court, Sullivan was appointed to serve as a federal judge in the Western District of Texas, President Donald Trump announced on social media Tuesday.
Sullivan, 45, graduated from Harvard Law School and worked on the Washington Circuit Court of Appeals. He rose through Texas’ conservative legal ranks through a series of positions under Gov. Greg Abbott, starting as deputy solicitor general during Abbott’s tenure as state attorney general. He joined the governor’s team in 2018 as deputy general counsel, then was promoted to general counsel in his final stop before Abbott appointed him to the bench in January 2025.
Last Tuesday, his first bid for a four-year term, Sullivan lost to Judge Chari Kelly, a Democrat who currently sits on the state appeals court in Austin. Democrats won every statewide office, including four Supreme Court seats, narrowing the Republican majority from 9-0 to 5-4 on Texas’ highest civil court.
The same Democratic sweep that cost Sullivan his current job could also jeopardize his next assignment, as Republicans scramble to fill judicial vacancies in the final days of their Senate majority.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Tuesday on social media that “an election result does not diminish a record of ability and integrity,” noting that Sullivan had already been endorsed by the bipartisan committee he and Sen. Ted Cruz formed to evaluate judicial nominees.
“It should be confirmed,” Cornyn said.
Trump, meanwhile, praised the candidate.
“James is an incredible jurist and attorney and will make an exceptional judge in Federal District Court,” the president said.
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