Attorney General Ken Paxton today congratulated former Texas Deputy Solicitor General Andrew Oldham after he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Oldham is President Trump’s sixth pending or confirmed judicial nomination of a current or former staffer with the Texas attorney general’s office.
“Andy Oldham is principled, smart and will faithfully interpret the rule of law, not legislate from the bench,” Attorney General Paxton said. “I’m confident Andy will make an extraordinary appellate judge and serve honorably in his new role.”
Oldham is the general counsel to Governor Greg Abbott. He succeeded Jimmy Blacklock, whom Abbott named to the Texas Supreme Court to replace Don Willett after President Trump nominated Willett to the 5th Circuit, which handles cases from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Oldham served as then-Attorney General Abbott’s deputy solicitor general and represented Texas in federal courts across the country, including two U.S. Supreme Court cases. The Harvard Law School graduate also worked in private practice, served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and was an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice.