Jeannette Vargas

Jeannette Anne Vargas (born 1973)^[1][2] is an American lawyer who has served as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York since 2024. She previously served as an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York from 2002 to 2024.

Jeannette A. Vargas
Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Incumbent
Assumed office November 6, 2024
Appointed by	Joe Biden
Preceded by	Paul G. Gardephe
Personal details
Born	Jeannette Anne Vargas 1973 (age 51–52) Flushing, Queens, New York, U.S.
Education	Harvard College (BA) Yale University (JD)

Education

Vargas earned a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1995 and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 2000.^[3]

Career

From 2000 to 2001, Vargas worked as an associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City. From 2001 to 2002, she was a law clerk for Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. From 2002 to 2024, she served as an assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. In that role, from 2010 to 2014, she served as chief of the Tax and Bankruptcy Unit, from 2014 to 2016, she was senior trial counsel and she served as deputy chief in the Civil Division from 2016 to 2024.^[3]

Federal judicial service

Vargas was recommended to the Biden administration by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.^[4] On March 20, 2024, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Vargas to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.^[3] On March 21, 2024, her nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Vargas to the seat vacated by Judge Paul G. Gardephe, who assumed senior status on August 9, 2023.^[5] On April 17, 2024, a hearing on her nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.^[6] On May 9, 2024, her nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–10 party-line vote.^[7] On September 10, 2024, the United States Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 52–43 vote.^[8] Later that day, her nomination was confirmed by a 51–43 vote.^[9] She received her judicial commission on November 6, 2024.^[10]

DOGE ruling

In response to a February 2025 lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James of New York, Vargas issued an injunction prohibiting DOGE from access Treasury systems.^[11]

See also

• List of Hispanic and Latino American jurists

References

1. "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
2. "Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Announces Appointments in Civil Division" (PDF) (Press release). U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. September 9, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
3. "President Biden Names Forty-Seventh Round of Judicial Nominees and Announces One New Nominee to Serve as U.S. Marshal" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
4. "Gillibrand Announces Her Recommendation For U.S. District Court For The Southern District Of New York, Jeannette Vargas, Has Been Nominated By President Biden" (Press release). Senator Gillibrand Press Release Office. March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
5. "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. March 21, 2024.
6. "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. April 16, 2024.
7. "Senate Judiciary Committee Advances the Protecting Older Americans Act, Four Judicial Nominations to the Full Senate" (Press release). United States Senate Judiciary Committee. May 9, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
8. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Jeannette A. Vargas, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York)". United States Senate. September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
9. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Jeannette A. Vargas, of New York, to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York)". United States Senate. September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
10. Jeannette Vargas at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
11. Meko, Hurubie (2025-02-22). "Federal Judge Banishes Musk's DOGE Aides From Treasury Dept. Systems". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-02-23.

External links

• Jeannette Vargas at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by Paul G. Gardephe	Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York 2024–present	Incumbent