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Senate votes on Texas judge nominee Angela Colmenero
The Senate takes a procedural step Tuesday toward confirming Trump's pick for a federal judgeship in Houston.
In brief
The Senate takes a procedural step Tuesday toward confirming Trump's pick for a federal judgeship in Houston. Angela Colmenero, a longtime Texas government lawyer backed by both state senators, faces a cloture vote Tuesday that would clear the way for final confirmation to a lifetime federal judgeship. Originally…
Senate votes Tuesday on judge nominee
The U.S. Senate will vote at 5:30 p.m. on September 22 on whether to invoke cloture on Angela Colmenero's nomination to the federal bench, a procedural step that limits debate and moves toward final confirmation.
Who is Angela Colmenero
Colmenero is deputy chief of staff to Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a position she's held since 2018. She previously spent nearly a decade in the Texas Attorney General's Office and briefly served as provisional attorney general in 2023.
Trump nominated her in May
President Donald Trump formally nominated Colmenero on May 12 to fill the federal district court seat vacated when Judge Lee H. Rosenthal retired in the Southern District of Texas.
Texas senators backed her nomination
Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz recommended Colmenero to Trump after their Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee reviewed her. Cornyn said in May he was proud to support her nomination.
“I am proud to support President Trump's nomination of Angela Colmenero to serve as a federal judge in Houston.”
Governor Abbott endorsed her too
Texas Governor Greg Abbott publicly endorsed Colmenero in May, calling her a brilliant lawyer who would make an exemplary federal judge.
“Angela Colmenero is a brilliant lawyer and will make an exemplary federal judge.”
Judiciary Committee advanced her narrowly
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Colmenero's nomination on July 16 by an 11-10 vote after she appeared at a hearing on June 10 alongside other judicial nominees.
Her legal background spans Texas
Colmenero graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and Notre Dame Law School. She clerked for a federal judge in Dallas and practiced law there before joining state government.
Another Texas judge just confirmed
Days before Colmenero's vote, the Senate confirmed Kasdin Miller Mitchell to the Northern District of Texas on September 17 by a 49-45 vote. Both nominees were sent to the Senate on the same day in May.
Confirmation means lifetime tenure
If confirmed, Colmenero would serve as a U.S. district judge with lifetime tenure under Article III of the Constitution, serving until she resigns, retires or is removed through impeachment.
The short version
Angela Colmenero, a longtime Texas government lawyer backed by both state senators, faces a cloture vote Tuesday that would clear the way for final confirmation to a lifetime federal judgeship.
