Chad Meredith

Nomination Tracker
Nominee Information
	Name: Chad Meredith
	Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
Progress
	Confirmed 122 days after nomination.
	Nominated: June 23, 2025
	ABA Rating: Well Qualified
	Questionnaire: Questionnaire
	Hearing: July 30, 2025
	Hearing Transcript: Hearing Transcript
	QFRs: (Hover over QFRs to read more)
	Reported: September 11, 2025
	Confirmed: October 23, 2025
	Vote: 48-45

Chad Meredith is a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He was nominated to the court by President Donald Trump (R) on June 23, 2025, and confirmed by the United States Senate on October 23, 2025, by a vote of 48-45.^[1]^[2]^[3] To see a full list of judges appointed by Donald Trump, click here.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky 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, Meredith was an attorney with Squire Patton Boggs, a law firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. He also served as the solicitor general under former Tennessee Attorney General Daniel Cameron.^[4]

Judicial nominations and appointments

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky (2025-present)

See also: Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

On June 23, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Meredith to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He was confirmed by a 48-45 vote of the U.S. Senate on October 23, 2025.^[1] Meredith received commission on November 3, 2025.^[2] To read more about the federal nominations process, click here.

Confirmation vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed Meredith on October 23, 2025, on a vote of 48-45.^[1] To see a full breakdown of the vote on the official U.S. Senate website, click here.

Chad Meredith confirmation vote (October 23, 2025)
Party	Yea	Nay	No vote
Democratic	0	43	2
Republican	48	0	5
Independent	0	2	0
Total	48^[5]	43	7

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on Meredith's nomination on July 30, 2025. The committee voted to advance Meredith's nomination to the full Senate on September 11, 2025.^[6] Click here for a list of other nominees awaiting a committee vote.

Nomination

On June 23, 2025, President Donald Trump (R) nominated Chad Meredith to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He received commission in 2025.^[2]

Meredith was nominated to replace Judge Danny Reeves, who assumed senior status on February 1, 2025.^[7]

The American Bar Association (ABA) rated Meredith well qualified.^[8] To read more about ABA ratings, click here.

Biography

Early life and education

Meredith was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky in 1981. He obtained a B.A. from Washington and Lee University in 2003 and a J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 2007.^[3]

Professional career

2025-present: Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky
2021-2025: Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
2019-2021: Solicitor general
2015-2019: Chief deputy general counsel to Gov. Matt Bevin
2009-2015: Private practice^[4]^[3]

About the court

The Eastern District of Kentucky 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 Ashland Division, covering Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Greenup, Lawrence, Lewis, Morgan, and Rowan counties.

The Covington Division, covering Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Mason, Pendleton, and Robertson counties.

The Frankfort Division, covering Anderson, Carroll, Franklin, Henry, Owen, Shelby, and Trimble counties.

The Lexington Division, covering Bath, Bourbon, Boyle, Breathitt, Clark, Estill, Fayette, Fleming, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Lee, Lincoln, Madison, Menifee, Mercer, Montgomery, Nicholas, Powell, Scott, Wolfe, and Woodford counties.

The London Division, covering Bell, Clay, Harlan, Jackson, Knox, Laurel, Leslie, McCreary, Owsley, Perry, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Wayne, and Whitley counties.

The Pikeville Division, covering Floyd, Johnson, Knott, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, and Pike counties.

The court is based in Lexington and also holds sessions in federal courthouses in Ashland, Covington, Frankfort, London, and Pikeville. The court also meets in Richmond and Jackson. In addition, at one time, the court also met in Catlettsburg; however, the court left Catlettsburg when the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Ashland was completed.

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.