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Courts & Justice · Report · File No. 261112-078

Trump pulls 8th Circuit pick after Arkansas GOP senators balk, slowing lame-duck push

On Nov. 10 the White House withdrew Judge Lee Rudofsky's nomination to a seven-state appeals court and named Arkansas Justice Cody Hiland instead. Hiland now needs a new hearing, and Democrats take over the Senate in January.

By the Courts Desk · · 4 min read

Every quote in this story (4) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
John Boozman
John Boozman. Photo: Rebecca Hammel, U.S. Senate Photographic Studio, Public domain

On Tuesday, Nov. 10, President Trump withdrew his nomination of federal District Judge Lee Rudofsky to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He named Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Cody Hiland for the seat instead 12. The White House announcement did not give a reason for the change 2.

The swap followed reports that Arkansas's two Republican senators, John Boozman and Tom Cotton, preferred Hiland and worked to block Rudofsky 14. Neither senator publicly endorsed Rudofsky while the Senate Judiciary Committee was considering him 1. By custom, home-state senators introduce a nominee at his hearing, and neither one introduced Rudofsky 4.

That matters because time is short. Democrats take control of the Senate in January. Any nomination the Senate has not acted on by noon on Jan. 3 has to be sent over again 1. Rudofsky had already had his hearing and was expected to get a committee vote the next week. Hiland will need a new hearing 7.

One seat covers seven states

The 8th Circuit hears appeals from federal courts in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota 1. The new judge would replace Judge Bobby Shepherd, who announced in July that he would retire 2. Filling the seat would give Trump appointees a majority on the court 7. It would be the first federal appeals court where most judges were picked by Trump 3.

From Channel GOPWhitehouse presses Bessent on IRS leak settlementSheldon Whitehouse · 647 plays · captioned, with the source named

Both men have records on voting and abortion. In 2022, Rudofsky ruled that there is no private right of action under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act 3. That means private citizens and groups could not bring their own lawsuits under that part of the law. Hiland wrote a 2024 Arkansas Supreme Court majority opinion that upheld voting restrictions. He also joined a 4-3 decision that kept a proposed abortion-access amendment off the ballot 3.

Rudofsky was Arkansas's solicitor general under Gov. Asa Hutchinson and has been a federal district judge since November 2019 1. Hiland has served on the Arkansas Supreme Court since July 2023. From October 2017 to December 2020 he was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas 1.

A fight inside the Republican Party

Hiland was passed over for the seat in August. He said the White House later asked him to consider a lower district court seat instead, and he turned it down 1. At an August event he said, "That is not a position that I’m interested in," 4.

The Washington Examiner asked Boozman whether he was working to block Trump's pick so Hiland could get the job. He answered with a question: "Would that be wrong?" 4 He did not deny the reports 4.

John Boozman
My conversations with fellow senators are conversations between us,
John Boozman, U.S. senator, R-Ark.4

Rudofsky did not fight it. He said that without support from his home-state senators, confirmation was "simply not a practical possibility in today's Senate" 1. He called Hiland "a solid jurist and a good friend" 1.

Lee Rudofsky
So I understand completely the President’s decision to withdraw my nomination.
Lee Rudofsky, U.S. district judge, Eastern District of Arkansas; withdrawn 8th Circuit nominee4

Some of Trump's conservative allies were angry. Lawyer Mike Davis had warned on X that the senators "need to change their minds — and fast — or Republicans will lose this key appellate court seat" 3. Josh Blackman, a conservative law professor, wrote that "Circuit seats belong to the circuit, and not to the state" 5. He told CNN, "Trump has set precedents where he will roll over for the state senators" 7.

The rush before January

The Arkansas swap is one snag in a larger push. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said, "The priority is going to be getting the judges across the finish line" 6. Trump has won 57 judicial confirmations so far in his second term. There are 28 current vacancies and 15 more coming up 6. Republicans are trying to confirm about two dozen nominees before they hand over the Senate 7.

Floor time is limited. Unless Democrats agree to a deal, each appeals court nominee needs 30 hours of Senate debate. District court nominees need two hours 7. To reach the floor by mid-December, nominees need hearings by the week of Nov. 16 7.

Democrats say Republicans are cutting corners to get there. Under committee norms, judicial hearings are held at least two weeks apart, and senators get at least 28 days to review each nominee's questionnaire. A hearing is planned for Nov. 18, just eight days after the last one on Nov. 10 7. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee's top Democrat, warned that the shortcuts could stick.

Dick Durbin
Don't be surprised if some of these violations have now become routine enough to be followed in the future.
Dick Durbin, Top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, D-Ill.7

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa said Democrats broke the same norms when they ran the committee 7. "Historically, this committee has shortened timelines when circumstances warrant it," he said 6. He also accused Democrats of planning to block Trump's picks once they take over.

They're planning to stonewall a president's ability to appoint judges – now that is what is unprecedented.
Chuck Grassley, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee, R-Iowa7

The pattern is worth remembering. In Barack Obama's last two years, the Republican Senate confirmed just 20 of his district and appeals court nominees 6. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, expected to lead the committee next year, said, "There needs to be accountability for years of Republican bad behavior" 6. Conservative legal writer Ed Whelan predicted that in the new Senate, "No one, or nearly no one, is going to get confirmed" 6.

The Record

  1. Lee Rudofsky has his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the 8th Circuit seat 1.
  2. The White House tells the Senate it is withdrawing Rudofsky's nomination and naming Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Cody Hiland 1.
  3. The Judiciary Committee advances four district court nominees and holds hearings for four others 6.
  4. Another judicial hearing is planned, breaking the norm of holding hearings at least two weeks apart 7.
  5. Deadline at noon: nominations the Senate hasn't acted on must be sent over again, as Democrats take control 1.
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Sources

  1. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (NWA Online), “Trump withdraws Rudofsky nomination, picks Hiland for 8th Circuit Court of Appeals” (2026-11-10). nwaonline.com/news/2026/nov/10/rudofsky-says-his-nomination-
  2. KATV, “President Trump withdraws Rudofsky nomination, taps Cody Hiland for role” (2026-11-10). katv.com/news/local/president-trump-withdraws-rudofsky-nomin
  3. Nomination Notes, “Trump replaces Eighth Circuit nominee Lee Rudofsky with Justice Cody Hiland” (2026-11-10). nominationnotes.substack.com/p/trump-replaces-eighth-circuit
  4. The Federalist, “A week after midterm rout, GOP Sens. Boozman, Cotton sink Trump judicial pick” (2026-11-11). thefederalist.com/2026/11/11/a-week-after-midterm-rout-gop-s
  5. Reason (The Volokh Conspiracy), “The President Nominates Circuit Judges, Not Senators” (2026-11-11). reason.com/volokh/2026/11/11/the-president-nominates-circuit
  6. CBS News, “Trump's judicial confirmation machine to face resistance in Democratic-controlled Senate” (2026-11-11). cbsnews.com/news/trump-judicial-confirmations-democrats-sena
  7. CNN (via ABC17 News), “Republicans' lame-duck dash to confirm judges is already hitting speed bumps” (2026-11-12). abc17news.com/politics/national-politics/cnn-us-politics/202

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