{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=6A792DC9-AB7A-4430-83C9-0DE00F617F79", "Corker Introduces Eli Richardson at Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Bob Corker", "C001071", "www.corker.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) today introduced Eli Jeremy Richardson at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to serve as U.S. District Court Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee. A transcript of the senator\u2019s remarks follows.\r\n\u201cMr. Chairman, thank you so much for allowing me to be here. I want to thank the committee for the work that it does in moving so many good nominees to the floor.\r\n\u201cIt is my pleasure today to introduce Eli Jeremy Richardson, who has been nominated to serve as a United States District Court Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee.\u00a0 \u00a0\r\n\u201cI\u2019d also like to acknowledge his wife, Erin, his son, Wesley, his parents, Lincoln and Gloria, and the other family members and friends who are here to support him. I know they all, as they should be, are very proud.\r\n\u201cEli attended Duke University and obtained his law degree from Vanderbilt University.\r\n\u201cAfter he began practicing law, Eli felt called to serve our country and pursued a career with the FBI as a special agent focused on public corruption and counterterrorism cases.\r\n\u201cEli next served as a federal prosecutor \u2013 first in New Jersey and then in the Middle District of Tennessee, where he eventually became the office\u2019s criminal chief.\r\n\u201cNext, Eli worked for the Department of Justice overseas as the resident legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Serbia. Quite a distinguished career.\r\n\u201cAnd for the past seven years, he has been working for a law firm in Nashville handling a wide array of issues.\r\n\u201cWithout a doubt, Eli\u2019s diverse background and knowledge in civil and criminal matters will serve the Middle District of Tennessee well.\r\n\u201cI am confident that he understands the proper role of a judge and will faithfully uphold the law.\r\n\u201cI wholeheartedly support Eli\u2019s nomination and encourage my colleagues to support his confirmation.\r\n\u201cI would also like to mention \u2013 as I\u2019m sure my friend, Senator Alexander, did \u2013 that the Middle District has lost two active and two senior judges since November of 2016, and the two remaining judges now carry a weighted caseload of 780 per judgeship.\r\n\u201cThis is the fourth highest caseload of any district with a judicial emergency.\r\n\u201cI thank this committee for moving swiftly to bring the other nominee for the Middle District \u2013 Chip Campbell \u2013 to the floor and hope you will do the same with Eli\u2019s nomination.\r\n\u201cThank you so much for the courtesy of allowing me to be here.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-list?ContentRecord_id=6A792DC9-AB7A-4430-83C9-0DE00F617F79"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3111499138176441, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}