Grayson Lambert, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s top attorney, is going to be nominated by President Donald Trump to a prestigious lifetime federal judge’s post, various news organizations are reporting.

Lambert, 39, was born in Columbia, graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009, and then graduated magna cum laude from Duke University School of Law in 2012. After law school, he clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lambert is known for being well-prepared in arguments before the S.C. Supreme Court on the governor’s behalf, and for wearing bow ties. He occasionally calls lawyers he is arguing against “my friend.”

Lambert’s most recent appearance before the state’s high court came in mid-September when he argued that McMaster, as governor, has the right to send the National Guard out of state. The case involved McMaster’s sending hundreds of S.C. National Guard troops out of state to help patrol Washington, D.C. at President Trump’s request.

The opposing side, the S.C. Public Interest Foundation argued that McMaster only had the right to send troops out of state for genuine emergencies or training, but all the troops were doing in Washington was supposedly picking up trash and patrolling subway lines.

Lambert argued, however, there is a long history of the governor sending National Guard troops out of state beginning in the 1800s. “The governor’s decision to call out the militia is unreviewable,” Lambert argued. ”That decision may not be interfered with by judicial authority.”

The Supreme Court has not yet ruled in that case.

Lambert has been interested in being a federal judge since December 2024, when he discussed the matter with Gov. McMaster, according to his application papers on file with the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

After U.S. Judge Timothy Cain, who is based in Spartanburg, announced his intent to take senior status, Lambert contacted the offices of South Carolina’s Republican senators Tim Scott and the late Lindsey Graham. Earlier this month, he interviewed with officials from the White House counsel’s office, Lambert’s application said.

Thomas Limehouse, a Charleston attorney, was McMaster’s top attorney who helped recruit Lambert from private practice and join him on the governor’s in-house legal team as chief deputy legal counsel and senior litigation counsel.

“After working with Grayson as co-counsel ... I was convinced he had the intellect, integrity and judgment to serve our state at the highest levels, and he consistently did so in significant litigation and appeals during our over five years working together for the governor,” Limehouse said. “He’s a brilliant lawyer and a great person.”

Lambert’s actually getting a federal judge’s post this year is not a sure thing, said longtime court watcher Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law. That’s because there’s not much time left in this year’s congressional session.

Already, there are about a dozen judicial nominees ahead of Lambert in the pipeline that leads first to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing and then about two weeks later for a committee vote. After being approved by the committee, there are some minor hurdles to get through that don’t take that much time before the Senate confirms a nominee, Tobias said.

“Once he gets a hearing, it should be relatively smooth sailing,” Tobias said.

A federal judge makes approximately $249,000 a year for the lifetime job.

News organizations reporting on Trump’s plans to nominate Lambert include Law360 and Reuters.

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