Trump nominates U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky from Arkansas to appeals court
Aug 13, 2026 | 1:18 pm ET
Description
The exterior of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday, June 5, 2026. The courthouse includes the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. (Photo by Andrew DeMillo/Arkansas Advocate)
President Donald Trump has nominated U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky of Arkansas, who has issued rulings narrowing the scope of the Voting Rights Act and in favor of a state ban on classroom “indoctrination,” to a federal appeals court post.
Trump on Wednesday announced he was nominating Rudofsky, a judge in the Eastern District of Arkansas, to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 8th Circuit covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
“Lee will be a rock solid defender of the Constitution on the Eighth Circuit,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing the nomination.
Rudofsky was nominated to the bench by Trump and won Senate confirmation in 2019. Previously, he served as state solicitor general under Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and was assistant general counsel for Walmart.
Rudofsky in 2022 tossed out a redistricting lawsuit, ruling that private individuals did not have the right to sue to enforce a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit upheld the decision, which was criticized by civil rights groups who said it weakened the 1965 law.
Earlier this month, Rudofsky dismissed part of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of an Arkansas law banning “indoctrination” in public schools. Rudofsky’s ruling ordered additional arguments over whether the 2023 law was unconstitutionally vague.
As the solicitor general, Rudofsky represented the state in lawsuits over abortion restrictions and efforts to resume executions.
Conservatives praised Rudofsky’s nomination for the court.
Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill of Arkansas called the judge a “qualified and solid selection” for the appeals court in an X post.
If confirmed, Rudofsky would succeed Judge Bobby Shepherd, who was nominated to the court by former President George W. Bush. Shepherd, the father of state Rep. Matthew Shepherd and U.S. District Judge Thomas Shepherd, announced earlier this year he was retiring from active service on the appeals court.
Ten of the 11 active judges on the appeals court were nominated by Republican presidents.
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