{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-applauds-bennett-and-coker-judicial-nominations-for-southern-and-northern-districts-of-texas/", "Cornyn, Cruz Applaud Bennett and Coker Judicial Nominations for Southern and Northern Districts of Texas", "2026-08-19", "2026", "2026-08", "Republican", "Senate", "TX", "John Cornyn", "C001056", "www.cornyn.senate.gov", "cornyn", "https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "AUSTIN \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (R-TX) released the following statements after President Trump announced his intention to nominate Richard Bennett to be a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas \u2013 Houston Division and Courtney Coker to be a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas \u2013 Dallas Division:\n\n\u201cRichard Bennett and Courtney Coker have spent decades operating with integrity and working tirelessly to bring offenders to justice,\u201d said Sen. Cornyn. \u201cOur country and the Lone Star State need sharp legal minds and impartial judges to help preserve our independent judiciary, and I have no doubt Richard and Courtney are up to the task.\u201d\n\n\u201cI applaud President Trump for nominating Richard Bennett to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Texas and Courtney Coker to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Texas. I was proud to recommend them for nomination. Each has demonstrated a strong commitment to the rule of law, excellence, and public service, and I am confident they will continue that record of distinguished service on the federal bench,\u201d said Sen. Cruz.\n\nSens. Cornyn and Ted Cruz (R-TX) recommended Richard Bennett and Courtney Coker to President Trump following an extensive review and interview process of the candidate pool by the bipartisan Federal Judicial Evaluation Committee (FJEC). The Senators established the FJEC, a bipartisan panel of leading attorneys in Texas, to help identify the most qualified candidates to fill judicial vacancies. The panel reviewed applications, interviewed candidates, and made recommendations to the Senators, who interviewed individuals before making their recommendations to the President.\n\nUnited States Magistrate Judge Richard W. Bennett was appointed to the U.S. District Court\u2019s Southern District of Texas \u2013 Houston Division, effective April 22, 2024. Bennett graduated from Texas Christian University in 1997 and earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 2000 from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. He began his legal career as Chief Attorney in the Galveston County District Attorney\u2019s Office. He also served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas \u2013 Del Rio Division, Assistant Chief Counsel on Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the Department of Homeland Security, and most recently as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas \u2013 Houston Division.\n\nCourtney Coker has served as the Lead Attorney of the North Texas Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) since last year and joined the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office\u2019s Northern District of Texas in 2020. In 2008, he began his service in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Puerto Rico\u2019s Narcotic Criminal Division and later served in the Attorney offices for the Southern District of Florida, the Middle District of Tennessee, and the Southern District of Mississippi, where he was Chief of the Criminal Division. From 2004 to 2007, he worked as a solo practitioner, an adjunct professor at Mississippi College of Law, and as a special judge and child advocate in Mississippi Youth Court. He began his legal career in criminal defense, which he practiced until 2004. He graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, in 1999 and earned his law degree from Mississippi College of Law in 2002.", 1, "2026-08-20T05:28:41Z", "2026-08-21T05:32:22Z"]], "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.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-applauds-bennett-and-coker-judicial-nominations-for-southern-and-northern-districts-of-texas/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8603326752781868, "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"}