Aaron Peterson (Alaska)

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Aaron Peterson
	Court: United States District Court for the District of Alaska
Progress
	Confirmed 78 days after nomination.
	Nominated: November 18, 2025
	ABA Rating: No Rating
	Questionnaire: [N/A Questionnaire]
	Hearing: November 19, 2025
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: January 15, 2026
	Confirmed: February 4, 2026
	Vote: 58-39

Aaron Peterson is a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. He was nominated to the court by President Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump (R) on January 5, 2026, and confirmed by the United States Senate on February 10, 2026, by a vote of 58-39.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the District of Alaska is one of 94 U.S. District Courts. They are the general trial courts of the United States federal courts. To learn more about the court, click here.

Prior to joining the court, Peterson was a senior assistant attorney general in the Alaska Department of Law for Natural Resources.^[1]^[5]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the District of Alaska (2026-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On November 18, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Peterson to the United States District Court for the District of Alaska.^[1] He was confirmed by a 58-39 vote of the U.S. Senate on February 4, 2026. Peterson received commission on February 10, 2026.^[4] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Peterson by a vote of 58-39 on February 4, 2026.^[3] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Peterson confirmation vote (February 4, 2026)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	7	37	1
Republican	51	0	2
Independent	0	2	0
Total	58^[6]	39	3

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Peterson's nomination on November 19, 2025. He was reported to the full Senate on December 11, 2025, after a 14-8 committee vote.^[7] Peterson was reported to the full Senate again on January 15, 2026, after a 14-8 committee vote.^[8]

Nomination

On November 18, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Aaron Peterson to the United States District Court for the District of Alaska.^[1] Peterson's nomination was returned to the president at the sine die adjournment of the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2026.^[9] The president renominated Peterson on January 5, 2026.^[3]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Peterson no rating.^[10] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Peterson was nominated to replace Judge Timothy Burgess, who assumed senior status on December 31, 2021.^[11]

About the court

The Western District of Arkansas has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

There are six court divisions, each covering the following counties:

The El Dorado Division, covering Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Columbia, Ouachita and Union counties.

The Fayetteville Division, covering Benton, Madison and Washington counties.

The Fort Smith Division, covering Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Polk, Scott and Sebastian counties.

The Harrison Division, covering Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Marion, Newton and Searcy counties.

The Hot Springs Division, covering Clark, Garland, Hot Spring, Montgomery and Pike counties.

The Texarkana Division, covering Hempstead, Howard, Lafayette, Little River, Miller, Nevada and Sevier counties.

To read opinions published by this court, click here.

The federal nomination process

Federal judges are nominated by the president of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. There are multiple steps to the process:

The president nominates an individual for a judicial seat.
The nominee fills out a questionnaire and is reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing with the nominee, questioning them about things like their judicial philosophy, past rulings or opinions, etc.

As part of this process, the committee sends a blue slip to senators from the home state in which the judicial nomination was received, allowing them to express their approval or disapproval of the nominee.

After the hearing, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to approve or return the nominee.

If approved, the nominee is voted on by the full Senate.
If the Committee votes to return the nominee to the president, the president has the opportunity to re-nominate the individual.

The Senate holds a vote on the candidate.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, the nominee receives a commission to serve a lifelong position as a federal judge.
If the Senate does not confirm the nomination, that nominee does not become a judge.