Aaron Christian Peterson appears in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Nov. 19, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Screenshot)
Aaron Christian Peterson is one step closer to becoming Alaska’s next federal judge.
In a party-line vote on Thursday, the U.S. Senate’s judiciary committee voted 14-8 to advance Peterson’s nomination to a vote of the full U.S. Senate.
Unlike Alaska, where prospective state judges are nominated by a nonpartisan panel based on merit, federal judges are nominated by the president and subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate in a heavily politicized process.
Because the U.S. Senate is controlled by a Republican majority, Peterson’s confirmation process is not expected to be significantly contested.
Peterson, selected by President Donald Trump in October after being vetted by U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, was among seven prospective judges and federal prosecutors considered by the committee on Thursday.
Peterson is a former attorney with the Alaska Department of Law’s natural resource division and has served as a prosecutor. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran, registered Republican and a member of the Federalist Society, whose members generally follow Republican legal principles and support President Donald Trump..
Much of the discussion in the committee hearing focused on other nominees; Peterson was rarely mentioned and did not face any particular opposition, similar to his uneventful confirmation hearing last month.
Alaska has three federal judgeships; two are currently vacant. One of those vacancies was caused in 2024 when former judge Joshua Kindred resigned amid a sex-and-misconduct scandal after being appointed during Trump’s first term.
No one has yet been nominated for Alaska’s other vacant judgeship.
Speaking generally, the judiciary committee chair, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said on Thursday, “I’d like to process even more judicial nominations, but I’m waiting on the president to get those nominations up here.”
Peterson’s final confirmation vote is expected before the end of the year.
