President Donald Trump has nominated a circuit judge to become a federal judge for the U.S. Eastern District of Kentucky. 

Chief Circuit Judge Daniel Ballou currently serves on the bench in the 34th Judicial Circuit in McCreary and Whitley counties. Trump announced the nomination on Truth Social Tuesday evening, along with other federal judge appointments. 

“I have no doubt that Daniel Ballou will be a powerful defender of the Rule of Law on the Federal Bench in the GREAT Commonwealth of Kentucky,” the president wrote. “Congratulations Dan!” 

Ballou will succeed former Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove, who was selected to become the dean of the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law earlier this year. 

Ballou previously clerked for Judge Eugene Siler, who was nominated to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals by President George H.W. Bush. Siler was from Williamsburg. 

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, shared Trump’s post on X about Ballou and said “Congrats to a Great American.” Paul previously supported Ballou when he was running for Kentucky Supreme Court in 2018 against now Chief Justice Debra Hembree Lambert . 

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, also a Republican, also congratulated Ballou on X. 

“Judge Ballou’s service on the bench in our Mountain Counties and as a U.S. Marine have prepared him well to uphold the rule of law,” Coleman said. “I look forward to his confirmation!” 

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