WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) applauded the nomination of John Thomas Shepherd by President Trump to serve as a judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

“John Shepherd is an active community member who respects our Constitution and is deeply committed to the rule of law, the pursuit of justice and public service. His extensive legal experience as both a lawyer and judge will serve him well in this role and I’m pleased to support his nomination,” Boozman said. 

“I commend President Trump for nominating John Shepherd, a strong conservative judge and prosecutor in El Dorado, to serve as judge to the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. He has done a tremendous job working to make south Arkansas safer from violent criminals and drugs. I look forward to confirming his nomination in the Senate,” Cotton said.

Shepherd is a native of El Dorado and graduate of Rice University as well as the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville where he was managing editor of the Arkansas Law Review. He was a partner at Shepherd & Shepherd in El Dorado and also served as a prosecuting attorney, and later judge, for the Arkansas Circuit Court’s 13th Judicial District. He is a member of the Federalist Society. 

The Western District of Arkansas includes 34 counties stretching from Texarkana and El Dorado to Fayetteville and Fort Smith.

President Trump has also nominated David Clay Fowlkes to serve as a judge for the Western District of Arkansas. His nomination, which Boozman and Cotton support and have urged their colleagues to approve, was resubmitted after it expired at the conclusion of 2025.