HELENA — The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed state Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, as Montana’s newest federal judge.
On Wednesday, senators approved Mercer’s nomination 52-47, on a party-line vote with all Republicans in support and all Democrats in opposition.
Mercer has served in the state House since 2019. He previously served as Montana’s U.S. attorney from 2001 to 2009, under the George W. Bush administration.
Montana’s two senators, Sen. Steve Daines and Sen. Tim Sheehy, released a joint statement congratulating Mercer.
“Bill will have a lasting impact on both our state and the nation, and his experience at the U.S. Department of Justice, as U.S. Attorney for Montana, and as a state legislator have uniquely prepared him for this role,” they said. “We are confident Bill will continue to zealously defend the rule of law and the original interpretation of the Constitution as he serves the people of Montana and the nation.”
Mercer completed his fourth legislative session earlier this year and was not able to run for another term in the House because of term limits.
President Donald Trump announced he was nominating Mercer to the bench in July. He will now take over as one of three active U.S. district judges in the state – replacing Judge Dana Christensen, who is expected to move into “senior status,” a form of semi-retirement in which judges hear a smaller caseload.
A second district judge, Susan Watters, announced she would take senior status earlier this year. Trump has not yet announced a nominee to replace her.
