The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing in November featuring three judicial nominees, including Nick Ganjei — who the Senate is voting on today to become a lifetime judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Senator Ted Cruz opened the hearing to introduce Ganjei, his former chief counsel for three years, saying that “Nick is exactly the kind of nominee who reflects the best of this moment.”
“He has done the work — quietly, diligently, professionally — that keeps Americans safe,” Cruz said, saying that as his chief counsel he saw “firsthand the qualities that define him: exceptional judgement, deep integrity, respect for the Constitution, and humility in the exercise of public power.” Cruz continued his praise, saying “President Trump nominated Nick because he embodies the traits we should demand from every federal judge: seriousness, independence, commitment to the rule of law, a lifetime of service, and dedication to the American people.”
Then things took a turn — and Ganjei’s alleged “exceptional judgement,” “deep integrity,” and “seriousness” came crashing down.
Anti-immigrant views
In her questioning, Senator Mazie Hirono asked Ganjei about a video he reposted on his official U.S. attorney X/Twitter account. People For the American Way, an organization that opposes Ganjei’s confirmation, described the video in this way:
In September 2025, he reposted a disturbing video originally posted on Twitter by the Department of Homeland Security. It is a highlight reel portraying violent roundups of people as a game to be enjoyed. The video has the caption “Gotta Catch ‘Em All,” the Pokémon slogan. With the Pokémon theme song playing, the video features a montage of people being overpowered, pinned down, handcuffed, and taken away by federal agents whose identities are hidden, either by masks or by digital pixelation of the video. Ganjei reposted the video with one comment: “Give their social media guy a raise.”
Senator Hirono asked Ganjei whether he thinks it’s appropriate to repost this type of video, knowing he’ll be sitting as a judge and that these people and related cases could possibly come before him. Ganjei showed no remorse, saying only that the video was specifically about ICE’s ‘worst of the worst’ initiative. He did not comment on Senator Hirono’s questions about whether he found this to be a game or source of amusement — and about ICE instilling fear in communities more broadly.
Ganjei clearly supports the president’s authoritarian immigration agenda that regularly denies people due process. As People For wrote in their letter, “All litigants in civil and criminal cases should feel confident that their legal arguments will be considered fairly without regard to their immigration status. Ganjei’s record of animus and dehumanization toward undocumented immigrants makes such confidence impossible.” And as Alliance for Justice (AFJ) notes in their letter, “In Department of Justice press releases and other public statements as the district’s top law enforcement official, Ganjei also uses derogatory terms like ‘illegal alien’ to describe undocumented individuals.”
Trump actually foreshadowed all of this in his social media post announcing Ganjei’s nomination, where he wrote in part:
Nick is a fearless proponent of Immigration Enforcement, Strong Borders, and LAW AND ORDER — All very popular in The Lone Star State, especially after Joe Biden recklessly let MILLIONS of Illegal Immigrants cross the Southern Border, and invade the beautiful ranches and communities of Southern Texas. Nick Ganjei is an America First Fighter, who will always uphold our Constitution, enforce the Rule of Law, and Keep our now very Secure Border, Secure. Congratulations Nick!
Trump’s reference to President Biden and his suggestion that Ganjei will somehow correct something the former president did is highly inappropriate. But Trump has reason to believe this: In a speech last July, Ganjei (as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas) stated that “Unfortunately, in recent years we’ve experienced a failure to enforce our nation’s immigration laws. That neglect has produced a crisis that is the most important problem facing the United States today. For the Department of Justice, and for the Southern District of Texas, addressing this crisis is priority number one.”
In this moment — in any moment — it is appalling that the Senate is poised to reward Ganjei with a lifetime federal judgeship.
The January 6 insurrection
Multiple times in Department of Justice press releases, including on October 6 and November 14 (just five days before his confirmation hearing last year), Ganjei used the phrase “attacking the American system of justice” to refer to attacks on law enforcement. “The Southern District of Texas has a zero-tolerance policy towards anyone who does so,” he said in those press releases.
Senator Richard Blumenthal asked Ganjei about a quite famous attack on law enforcement: January 6. He noted that Trump gave pardons to individuals who participated in the insurrection — many who were involved in assaults on law enforcement officers. Blumenthal brought up the case of Julian Khater, who assaulted Officer Brian Sicknick (who died the following day, on January 7), and asked Ganjei whether he supports Trump’s pardon of Khater. Ganjei said that he “can’t comment on the president’s exercise of his enumerated constitutional powers” but “I am comfortable saying I abhor political violence of all kinds.”
“This individual atrociously assaulted a Capitol police officer,” Blumenthal responded, “and you’re unwilling to say whether you support a pardon that allowed him to go free without any record of a crime?” Ganjei said that “As a judicial nominee, it would be improper for me to wade into a public conflict like that and comment on a president’s use of his pardon power or President Biden’s commutation of people on death row. Those are issues that I think are improper” for a judicial nominee to comment on.
Ganjei was not asked about President Biden’s commutation of the sentences of people on death row — a move widely applauded by civil rights organizations — but he brought it up twice, unprompted, despite saying it was an issue he shouldn’t comment on. Senator Blumenthal called out Ganjei, saying that him “gratuitously” talking “about other uses of the pardon I think is simply meant to distract” from Trump’s use of the pardon power for people who committed brutal assaults on police officers.
Senator Josh Hawley, who questioned him next, gave Ganjei more time to talk about President Biden, asking him to clarify whether the people whose sentences Biden commuted were “violent offenders.” Ganjei responded “That is correct.” So much for not commenting.
Later during his questioning, Ranking Member Dick Durbin asked Ganjei, again, whether he agrees that the January 6 offenders attacked the American system of justice. Ganjei referred to it as a “public controversy” and a “political issue” and said it would be “imprudent” for him to weigh in on it. This is, unfortunately, consistent with how every other nominee is responding to questions related to January 6 — they won’t.
Disturbing affiliations
AFJ and People For also raised concerns about Ganjei’s affiliations. As AFJ notes:
For nearly two decades, Ganjei has aligned himself with far-right extremist activist organizations pushing agendas harmful to the American people. In addition to serving as a panelist and moderator for the Federalist Society a number of times, Ganjei was a Lincoln Fellow at the Claremont Institute, an anti-democracy think tank that supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Ganjei also worked at the Manhattan Institute, which champions troubling policies such as stripping funding from public schools and privatizing key social services. These organizations are actively working to champion and confirm nominees who will push an ideologically driven agenda that seeks to cut off access to reproductive care, undo LGBTQ+ rights and civil rights protections, and undermine voting rights.
People For also called out his connection to Hillsdale College.
In 2022, he was a fellow at Hillsdale College, which has promoted the claim that the January 6 insurrection was a hoax. In a 2018 piece praising President Trump’s harsh immigration policies during his first term, Hillsdale portrayed racial and ethnic diversity not as a national strength, but rather as a source of division, an enemy of the common good, and “a solvent that dissolves the unity and cohesiveness of a nation.” Hillsdale has also been a key player in the far right’s war against public education.
Ganjei’s Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire also says that, since 2022, he has been a member of Teneo — a confidential network, promising to “crush liberal dominance,” that is open only to members in their 40s or younger.
Senators must oppose his confirmation
A letter from six organizations, in opposition to Ganjei’s confirmation to a lifetime judgeship in Texas, says it best:
Someone who has shown such contempt for the rule of law and human dignity cannot be trusted to fairly administer justice. His inflammatory and partisan attitude will undermine the public’s trust in an impartial, independent judiciary; his elevation to the bench would signal that this derogatory conduct is acceptable. Judges should be held to the highest standards of decorum, civility, and professionalism. They must administer our laws impartially, independent from any partisan pressure. America’s families deserve nothing less. Giving Ganjei a lifetime judicial appointment would elevate a nominee who has shown little regard for neutrality or good conduct, endangering the rights of all Texans.
A procedural vote to end debate on Ganjei’s nomination is scheduled for today — the second vote in a series beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET. If his nomination advances, his confirmation vote will be today at 2:15 p.m. ET.