WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., today welcomed President Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Taylor McNeel of Pascagoula to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi. Wicker and Hyde-Smith recommended McNeel to the President for this nomination.

“Taylor McNeel will make a great judge because he shares the conservative judicial philosophy that laws should be interpreted as written,” Wicker said. “He has distinguished himself academically at the University of Mississippi, professionally as a young lawyer, and through his community involvement on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I join Senator Hyde-Smith in thanking President Trump for agreeing with our recommendation to nominate Taylor. I look forward to adding his name to the long list of conservative judges confirmed by the Republican Senate.”

“President Trump has again selected a smart, qualified Mississippian to serve on the federal bench. Taylor McNeel’s legal experience, judicial philosophy, and good character will make him an excellent jurist for the Southern District. I look forward to supporting his nomination through the confirmation process,” Hyde-Smith said.

Committed to excellence from an early age, McNeel was an Eagle Scout, student body president, and an all-state quarterback in high school. At the University of Mississippi, he was elected senior class president and was a member of the football team for two seasons. He graduated from law school at Ole Miss in 2008.

McNeel is a partner in the law firm of Brunini, Grantham, Grower, and Hewes, where he heads the Mississippi Gulf Coast office and has led a number of cases before the Mississippi Supreme Court, Mississippi Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

McNeel and his wife, Jessica, have two children. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Pascagoula and the Harrison County Bar Association. Additionally, McNeel has held a number of leadership positions in the Mississippi Bar Association.