Republican Tarrant County District Judge Chris Wolfe will become the newest federal judge in Waco after the U.S. Senate confirmed his nomination to the bench this week.
Senators voted 53-47 to confirm Wolfe’s nomination to the lifelong judicial position Tuesday. Wolfe did not immediately respond to a KERA News request for comment.
In a statement, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, wrote that the Senate is continuing on a “record pace” of confirming President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees.
“I was proud to join Senator Cruz in recommending (Wolfe) to serve on the federal bench given his wealth of experience upholding the rule of law as a State District Judge,” Cornyn said, “and I look forward to seeing the good work he’ll do on the federal bench.”
But Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Trump has nominated judicial candidates at an uneven pace. There aren’t as many appointments for the president to fill in his second term as former President Joe Biden left few vacancies, Tobias said.
“People are talking about the possibility that Republicans might lose the majority in the Senate,” he said. “If they do, I think Democrats are committed to slowing the process down. If not, then I think Trump will try to fill as many vacancies as he can.”
The Western District of Texas includes McLennan, Travis, Bexar and El Paso counties and surrounding areas. Wolfe, a Baylor University School of Law graduate, will return to Waco to replace Senior Judge David Guaderrama, an Obama nominee who retired in 2023.
Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Wolfe to the 213th District Court in Tarrant County in 2018, where the judge currently presides over felony criminal cases. Before that, Wolfe worked in the Fort Worth division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas as a deputy branch manager and an assistant U.S. attorney.
Trump is also seeking to fill judicial vacancies in the Southern District of Texas with former prosecutors. The president nominated acting U.S. Attorney John Marck and Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Arthur “Rob” Jones to federal judgeships earlier this month.
Working as a prosecutor is one of the most important tracks to the federal bench, Tobias said.
“Those are the people who are in the courtroom almost every day and acquire a lot of experience in exactly the kind of skills that you need on the federal bench,” Tobias said.
While Trump lauded Marck and Jones for their enforcement of his hardline immigration enforcement, he didn’t give any indication of his hopes for Wolfe’s time on the bench in his Truth Social post announcing Wolfe’s nomination.
Wolfe, along with Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare, led an effort in 2024 to end the county's contract with Youth Advocate Programs — or YAP — in their roles on the county juvenile board. Wolfe said he was concerned that language on YAP's website such as "policy and advocacy" and "systemic racism" reflected politically controversial topics.
Wolfe echoed this reasoning in his written responses to questions from senators. He said he did not believe services provided to youth under the care of Tarrant County had declined since YAP's contract expired. When asked about the disproportionate detention of Black youth in Tarrant County, Wolfe said the issue is complex and said his role is to ensure fair and respectful treatment of juveniles regardless of race.
Senators will vote Thursday to confirm the nomination of Texas attorney Andrew Davis as a judge in the Austin division of Texas’ Western District. Davis was previously Sen. Ted Cruz’s chief counsel and a Texas assistant solicitor general.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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