Trump nominates two Justice Department lawyers to district courts in Nebraska and Indiana

By Sofia Linwood

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Oct. 19 named two Justice Department lawyers to federal trial courts: Eric Hamilton, a senior official in the department’s Civil Division, for the District of Nebraska, and Joseph Falvey, a federal prosecutor, for the Northern District of Indiana, Bloomberg Law reported.

Both picks are for upcoming vacancies, and both drew immediate support from their home-state Republican senators. Apart from the two, 18 of Trump’s judicial nominees were pending at the time, according to Bloomberg Law.

Eric Hamilton, District of Nebraska

Hamilton has been deputy assistant attorney general for the Federal Programs Branch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division since 2025, the branch that defends federal agencies and policies in court, according to a joint release from Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts. He previously served as Nebraska’s solicitor general, as an assistant solicitor general of Texas and as associate counsel to Trump during his first term. He clerked for Judge Thomas M. Hardiman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, graduated from Stanford Law School in 2013 and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the release says.

“Eric Hamilton has built an impressive legal career defined by integrity, sound judgment, and a steadfast commitment to the rule of law,” Fischer said, adding that she was “proud to recommend his nomination to President Trump.” Ricketts said Hamilton “served our state with integrity” as solicitor general and “has dedicated his career to public service,” according to the release and Nebraska Public Media.

Joseph Falvey, Northern District of Indiana

Falvey is chief of the appellate division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana. He is a Yale Law School and University of Notre Dame graduate, a former Jones Day associate, and clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts, D.C. Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith and U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, according to Sen. Jim Banks’s office. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a Pat Tillman scholar. Banks said Falvey is the first nominee to that court of Trump’s second term.

In his announcement, Trump said Falvey “will strongly protect our cherished Constitution and Rule of Law in this important new role.” Banks called him “a warrior for everything that makes America great” and urged colleagues to support him, according to his statement.

Both nominations will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee before any floor vote.

The Inquisitor is seeking comment from Democracy Forward, a legal group active in litigation over federal policies. The offices of Sens. Fischer, Ricketts, Banks and Todd Young, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman’s office, the White House and the Justice Department were already contacted by the Inquisitor today on other matters. This story will be updated with any response.

Democracy Forward said Monday that it did not have comment.

Update, Oct. 26, 2026: This story has been updated with a response from Democracy Forward.