Biden taps CSKT attorney Danna Jackson for U.S. District Court judgeship

President Joe Biden has tapped an attorney for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to replace Judge Dana Christensen in the U.S. District Court of Montana.

Danna Jackson, a former U.S. attorney who served as chief legal counsel to the Montana Department of Natural Resources from 2016 to 2021, would be the first Native American federal judge in Montana if her nomination is confirmed. She worked as an attorney within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 2021 to 2023. 

Christensen, who was appointed to Montana’s federal court by then-President Barack Obama in 2011, announced in 2022 that he would assume senior status, a form of semi-retirement for judges.