McConnell pick Chad Meredith gets Senate nod to become next Kenucky federal judge

Austin Horn, Lexington Herald-Leader on Oct 23, 2025

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Chad Meredith will be Kentucky’s newest federal district judge.

After being tapped by President Donald Trump over the summer, Meredith passed the last trial of the judicial nomination process Thursday afternoon: full U.S. Senate confirmation.

Meredith was confirmed to join the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in a 48-45 vote by the Senate, which is controlled by a Republican majority. He will fill the seat of Judge Danny Reeves, who took senior status earlier this year. Meredith is currently employed at the Cincinnati-based law firm Squire Patton Boggs, where he was recently promoted to partner.

The path Meredith took to the post was not without its bumps.

Three years ago, Meredith was slated to be nominated by former Democratic President Joe Biden in a rare deal between Biden and Kentucky GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell. The plan was dropped, however, due to the opposition of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

This time around, Paul supported McConnell’s nomination of Meredith.

Meredith faced some moderately oppositional questioning from Democrats in his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Those questions centered around his views on abortion and his time in the office of former Gov. Matt Bevin. Though Bevin’s team carried out a number of highly controversial pardons, Meredith maintained he was not involved.

McConnell lauded Meredith’s confirmation in a statement.

“Chad’s impressive legal background in the private sector and devotion to serving the public make him an excellent addition to the federal bench. His thoughtfulness and commitment to our Constitution will serve him well as he carries out his new duties,” McConnell wrote.

Meredith interned for McConnell in 2003. He graduated from Washington & Lee University and holds a law degree from the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law.

Before entering private practice, Meredith clerked for Senior Justice John Marshall Rogers on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and for Amul Thapar in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky before Thapar was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Both of those judges were first appointed to the bench by former President George W. Bush.

In a statement, Kentucky Senate GOP leadership called Meredith “one of Kentucky’s finest legal sons.”

His father is Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, a longtime member of the Senate GOP caucus.

“This is a momentous occasion for Kentucky and a proud milestone for the Meredith family. Chad Meredith’s distinguished legal career, steadfast commitment to constitutional principles, and unwavering integrity have earned him broad respect across the legal community. His confirmation not only recognizes his impressive qualifications but also affirms the importance of judicial restraint and constitutional fidelity,” Kentucky Senate GOP wrote in the statement.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky covers the entirety of Eastern Kentucky, Northern Kentucky and the Bluegrass region. It also includes part of South-Central Kentucky.