In its first wave of judicial nominations for 2026, the Trump administration has nominated Brian Charles Lea to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
Elected to the Institute in 2020, Lea is currently a Deputy Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to joining the DOJ, Lea was a partner at Jones Day with experience in appellate matters and high-stakes product liability cases, business disputes, and constitutional litigation. Partner at Jones Day. From 2015-2017, Lea was on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Law. He has published articles discussing the federal courts, which have appeared in the Alabama Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, and the William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal and have been cited in U.S. Supreme Court opinions.
Lea served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States and Judge Ed Carnes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
View the full list of nominees here.