Ernesto Gonzalez Becomes Federal Judge in Western District of Texas

Gonzalez is the 189th federal judge confirmed during Joe Biden's presidency.

The U.S. Senate today held a recorded vote to confirm one individual as an Article III federal judge. With this confirmation, 189 judges nominated by President Joe Biden have now been confirmed by the Senate. With today’s action, 145 of Biden’s judicial nominees have been approved for service on federal district courts.

In an 88-7 vote, Ernesto Gonzalez was confirmed as a Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. He is Biden’s first confirmation to the 13-person court, with three additional vacancies where the President has one nominee awaiting approval by the Senate.

Gonzalez assumes the Del Rio-based seat previously held by Philip Ray Martinez, who died of an apparent heart attack while on active service in February 2021. A nominee of President George W. Bush, Martinez served on this court from 2002 to 2021. Gonzalez was nominated to this seat on the federal judiciary by Biden in January 2024.

Gonzalez was an Assistant District Attorney in Bexar County from 1994 to 2000. He then became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas from 2000 to 2003. That was followed by service as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas from 2003 to 2023. Since 2023, he has been a Senior Attorney Advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Section.