FACT SHEET: Information on Whitney Hermandorfer, Trump's nominee to the sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

A Lifetime Appointment, But Limited Experience

• Hermandorfer graduated from George Washington Law in 2015.

• Hermandorfer was admitted to the Virginia State Bar in October 2015 and has therefore practiced law for less than a decade.

• At 37, Hermandorfer would be among the youngest federal circuit court judges in recent memory. According to a 2017 study by the Congressional Research Service, the average age of a U.S. circuit court judge at the time of appointment was 50.6. Only five active circuit court judges (3.1%) had been appointed between the ages of 35 and 39 at the time.

A Very Recent History of Defending President Trump’s Unconstitutional Power Grab

In her role as the director of the Strategic Litigation Unit in the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, Hermandorfer has proven her unqualified loyalty to President Trump:

• Hermandorfer signed on to multiple amicus briefs supporting President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship via executive order. The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution has guaranteed birthright citizenship for more than 150 years.

• Hermandorfer signed on to an amicus brief supporting the Trump Administration’s bid to fire inspectors general, a move that one government watchdog group described as “blatantly illegal and incredibly concerning” given the role that inspectors general play in rooting out corruption, fraud, waste, and mismanagement.

• Hermandorfer signed on to an amicus brief backing President Trump’s attempt to assert authority over independent agencies, like the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In the brief, Hermandorfer described these agencies as “grave dangers” and cited a text promoting the “unitary executive theory,” a fringe theory of constitutional law that questions Congress’s ability to constrain the President.

Shilling for Corporate Special Interests and Right-wing Extremism

As the head of Tennessee’s Strategic Litigation Unit, Hermandorfer has championed causes near and dear to corporate special interests and right-wing extremist groups:

• In 2024, Hermandorfer asked a state court to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to clarify exceptions to Tennessee’s total abortion ban. Hermandorfer argued that, while life-threatening pregnancy complications are “tremendously unfortunate,” they are a “rare scenario.” The lawsuit was brought by a group of doctors and seven women who were denied abortions following pregnancy complications.

• Hermandorfer signed on to an amicus brief urging a federal court to knock down a Biden-era federal rule subjecting firearms equipped with stabilizing braces to more stringent regulation. Stabilizing braces are often paired with AR-style firearms that have been used in past mass shootings.

• Hermandorger testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee in her personal capacity, telling the body that an SEC rule requiring publicly listed companies to disclose climate risks was “overreach.”