Daniel Ballou, a Kentucky judge nominated by President Donald Trump for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, spent a Sept. 16 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing defending his criticism of judicial activism while trying to sidestep the political machinery that put him there. The hearing put a state judge with more than 20 years on the bench in front of Republican and Democratic senators, all of them weighing who gets to wear the robe and who gets to live under the rulings.
Ballou currently serves as chief circuit court judge in the state’s 34th Judicial Circuit. He was one of six federal nominees questioned for two hours. No vote came that day. Senators instead kept the process open so they could submit written questions, with a Sept. 23 deadline hanging over the room like the rest of the ritual.
Who Gets to Decide
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a longtime ally, introduced Ballou and praised him as a “friend” who had “built a reputation as a fair-minded judge who balances respect for the parties with fidelity to the law.” Paul offered his “strongest endorsement” for confirmation and said, “Whether on the battlefield or in the courtroom, Judge Ballou has demonstrated a commitment to public service and our constitution.” U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the committee, added after reviewing Ballou’s work history, “I think it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about the courtroom.”
That’s the language of the club. The senators and the nominee spoke in the polished dialect of institutions that decide everything from the bench and call it neutrality.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, pressed Ballou on comments he had made years earlier about specialty court programs that handle drug charges and treatment for veterans and can refer defendants to options other than jail. Durbin said Ballou had called those courts “social engineering” that promote a lack of accountability. Ballou acknowledged some benefits, singling out juvenile drug court, which Kentucky stopped offering more than 15 years ago, but said they “become avenues for excuse making,” despite the best intentions of people involved.
What the Bench Calls Reform
The hearing also dragged Ballou’s old attacks on “judicial activism” back into the light. U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California, pointed to a 2018 questionnaire Ballou filled out for his state Supreme Court bid, where Ballou described “judicial activism” as a nationwide problem. After Ballou agreed that judges should not overturn previous rulings based on personal or cultural views, Schiff asked whether U.S. Supreme Court rulings that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed unlimited political spending by corporations in violation of old standards qualified as judicial activism.
Ballou declined to discuss specific rulings. He said judges shouldn’t try to “fix things that the judiciary can’t fix, shouldn’t fix.” Asked whether he would uphold a state law that provides an avenue to legal abortion, he said, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to get specific, other than to say I would go by the law whether I like it or not.” Abortion is currently outlawed in Kentucky under most circumstances.
That’s the trap in plain sight. The court can bless the rules, enforce the rules, and hide behind the rules, but the people living under them don’t get to pretend the rules are neutral when the consequences land on their bodies and their lives.
The White House, the Capitol, and the Script
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, pressed Ballou and the other nominees on who won the 2020 presidential election. Ballou said, “Joe Biden was certified as the winner,” but declined to answer directly whether Biden won the popular vote, as other nominees did. Blumenthal also asked about the Jan. 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill. Ballou said he was busy that day and “didn't watch a whole lot of it,” but added, “I did watch enough to see it certainly appeared like there were people attacking the Capitol. When you’re slinging around barriers, breaking glass and punching cops … it appeared like some people were attacking the Capitol.”
Every other nominee declined to answer, saying that agreeing with a specific definition would amount to a political statement. Blumenthal said the answers showed the nominees would be unable to stand up to political influence, “particularly from the White House,” and said he would oppose their nominations.
The hearing’s own choreography said plenty. Senators asked questions, nominees dodged, and the whole thing stayed inside the walls of the same system that keeps deciding who counts as legitimate and who gets punished.
Ballou’s questionnaire said he has presided over about 120 jury trials in his career, the majority criminal proceedings, and has taught homeland security courses at Williamsburg’s University of the Cumberlands for the past 10 years, though he has resigned from that role. It also said he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy and has more than 20 years of experience as a judge in Kentucky.
Ballou wrote that in 2024 he told Paul he’d be interested in serving if a vacancy in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky opened. He said Paul reached out about six months ago on March 6 and told him there could be an opening later in the year. That day, the University of Kentucky announced U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove had been picked to serve as dean of its law school, a nomination that drew some pushback from staff and Gov. Andy Beshear but has since gone into effect. In the following weeks, Ballou said, he was interviewed by staff with U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office and the White House Counsel Office. On Aug. 18, he said, Trump called Ballou to tell him he planned to nominate him to fill the vacancy, and Trump announced the move on social media later that evening.
Ballou was reprimanded in 2011 by the Kentucky Judicial Conduct Commission after he emailed campaign materials about Paul’s first Senate campaign to other circuit court judges. Ballou agreed with the commission’s order at the time, though he said the move was not meant to be seen as an endorsement for Paul’s campaign.
The hearing ended without a vote. Senators have until Sept. 23 to submit written questions, another reminder that the machinery of appointment keeps grinding long after the cameras stop.