The FFRF Action Fund stands in opposition to the second group of judicial nominations from the Trump administration.
Jordan Pratt (Middle District of Florida) and Ed Artau (Southern District of Florida) are particularly unqualified for positions on the federal bench due to the threat they pose to the constitutional principle of separation between state and church.
Jordan Pratt, nominated as a U.S. district judge for the Middle District of Florida:Pratt, currently a judge on Florida’s state-level 5th District Court of Appeal, is a former attorney for the First Liberty Institute, a Christian nationalist legal organization. Following his First Liberty tenure, he was appointed to the state appellate court by Gov. Ron DeSantis. As a judge, he ruled that a parental bypass law designed to protect the privacy of minors when accessing abortion care violated the Florida Constitution. Pratt is a member of the Federalist Society. In an interview conducted after his nomination to the Florida 5th District Court of Appeal, he listed his inspirations as “Christ and His saints.”
Pratt is not the only First Liberty alumnus who President Trump has nominated to the federal bench. Matthew Kacsmaryk, currently a U.S. district judge on the Northern District of Texas, spent five years as deputy general counsel for the Christian nationalist organization. Since taking the bench, Kacsmaryk has affirmed his status as a Christian nationalist, overturning prohibitions on discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, vacating Biden-era protections for transgender employees, and issuing an outrageous injunction invalidating the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug Mifepristone (later overruled). Jordan Pratt presents a Kacsmaryk-like threat to the constitutional separation of state and church.
Ed Artau, nominated as a U.S. district court judge for the Southern District of Florida: Artau currently sits as a judge on Florida’s state-level 4th District Court of Appeal, where in 2024 he sided with a parent opposing their child’s access to gender-affirming care and criticized the lower court judge for referring to the child by their preferred pronouns. In 1995, the Florida governor’s office found Artau acted improperly by allegedly advocating for a judicial nominee whose husband had helped secure Artau’s appointment to a judicial nominating commission. Artau’s far-right views and disregard for ethical conduct pose a severe threat to the separation of state and church. Following Trump’s reelection, Artau spent time lobbying for a nomination to the federal bench — all while sitting on a panel of judges considering an appeal in which Trump was a party (he ruled in favor of the president).
In addition to Pratt and Artau, Trump has also nominated Kyle Dudek (Middle District of Florida), Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe (Middle District of Florida), John Guard (Middle District of Florida), and Emil Bove (3rd Circuit) to lifetime positions on the federal bench. FFRF Action Fund opposes all of these nominees for the threat they pose to the rule of law. Each of these nominees will sit for a hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, June 25.
The FFRF Action Fund opposed the first slate of Trump judicial nominees, too. This group is likely to receive a final vote from the Senate Judiciary Committee within the week.
“These latest nominees continue a menacing trend threatening both the separation of religion and government and the rule of law,” says FFRF Action Fund President Annie Laurie Gaylor. “The position of federal judge requires the utmost integrity and fealty to our secular Constitution. This round of nominees does not meet those basic standards.”
FFRF Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that develops and advocates for legislation, regulations and government programs to preserve the constitutional principle of separation between state and church. It also advocates for the rights and views of nonbelievers, endorses candidates for political office, and publicizes the views of elected officials concerning religious liberty issues.
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