Federal Prosecutor Zachary M. Bluestone Confirmed as Judge in Missouri
Bluestone becomes the third judge confirmed to a federal court in Missouri this week.
The U.S. Senate today held a recorded vote to confirm one individual as an Article III federal judge. With this confirmation, 238 judges nominated by President Donald Trump have now been confirmed by the Senate across his two terms in office. With today’s action, 177 of Trump’s judicial nominees have been approved for service on federal district courts.
In a 49-47 vote, Zachary M. Bluestone was confirmed as a Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. He becomes Trump’s sixth confirmation to the nine-person court, with one additional vacancy where Trump’s nominee is awaiting confirmation from the Senate.
49 Republicans approved Bluestone’s nomination. All 45 Democrats and two Independents voted in opposition. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) did not vote.
Bluestone will assume the St. Louis-based seat previously held by John Andrew Ross, who took senior status in June 2023. A nominee of President Barack Obama, Ross began serving on this court in October 2011 and remains a senior judge. Bluestone was nominated to this seat on the federal judiciary by Trump in May 2025.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, Bluestone was a Deputy Solicitor General of Missouri from 2018 to 2020. Since 2020, he has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri - working in the Violent Crimes Unit since 2020 and also serving as Appellate Chief since 2021.