Josh Divine
Josh Divine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri | |
| Assumed office July 24, 2025 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Rodney W. Sippel |
| Solicitor General of Missouri | |
| In office January 2023 – July 24, 2025 | |
| Attorney General | Andrew Bailey |
| Preceded by | D. John Sauer |
| Succeeded by | Louis J. Capozzi III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joshua Michael Divine 1990 (age 34–35) Yokota Air Base, Japan |
| Education | University of Northern Colorado (BS) Yale University (JD) |
Joshua Michael Divine (born 1990) is an American lawyer who has served as the solicitor general of Missouri since January 2023. He is the designate to serve as a United States district judge jointly of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.
Education
Divine was born in 1990 at Yokota Air Base, near Tokyo, Japan.[1] He received his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Northern Colorado in 2012. He received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2016.[2]
Career
Divine served as a law clerk to Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and to Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States,[2][3] before entering private practice. Divine worked as counsel to United States Senator Josh Hawley, and in December 2022, was named by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to begin as Solicitor General of Missouri in 2023.[3] In that capacity, he successfully challenged student loan forgiveness efforts by President Joe Biden.[2]
Nomination to district court
On May 6, 2025, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Divine to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.[4] On May 12, 2025, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Divine to the seat vacated by Judge Rodney W. Sippel, who assumed senior status on January 28, 2023. On June 26, his nomination was favorably reported out of committee by a 12–10 party-line vote.[5] On July 17, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 52–46 vote.[6] On July 22, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–46 vote.[7] He is awaiting his judicial commission.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Divine, Joshua Michael (June 3, 2025). "Divine's Senate Judiciary Committee Questionnaire" (PDF). judiciary.senate.com. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Missouri AG staffers nominated by Trump for federal judge positions". KTTN News. May 7, 2025.
- ^ a b Erickson, Kurt (December 29, 2022). "County judge to step down for a job with AG". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. pp. A1, A3 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "White House Press Release - President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Candidate Nominations". www.presidency.ucsb.edu. May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
- ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting" (PDF). U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. June 26, 2025. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
- ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Joshua M. Divine to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri)". www.senate.gov. July 17, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Joshua M. Divine, of Missouri, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri)". www.senate.gov. July 22, 2025. Retrieved July 22, 2025.
- ^ Josh Divine at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
External links
- Josh Divine at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.