Thomas Hardiman

Thomas Michael Hardiman (born July 8, 1965) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Nominated by President George W. Bush, he began active service on April 2, 2007. He maintains chambers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and was previously a United States district judge. In 2017, Hardiman was a finalist to succeed Antonin Scalia as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, alongside the eventual nominee, Neil Gorsuch. The next year, after Justice Anthony Kennedy had announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, Hardiman was once again considered to be a frontrunner to fill the vacant seat, though it was eventually filled by Brett Kavanaugh. Early life and education Hardiman was born in 1965 in Winchester, Massachusetts, and was raised in Waltham. His father, Robert, owned and operated a taxicab and school transportation business and his mother, Judith (nee' Kohler), was a homemaker and bookkeeper for the family business.