In a voice vote Thursday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved the nomination of Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Tilman “Tripp” Self to the Middle District of Georgia bench and sent his name to the Senate floor for final confirmation.

Self's nomination was approved in a block vote along with four other judicial nominees from Texas and South Carolina.

Four other nominees—Allison H. Eid for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Colorado; Stephanos Bibas for the Third Circuit; Liles Clifton Burke for the Northern District of Alabama; and Michael Joseph Juneau for the Western District of Louisiana—were also sent to the Senate floor after roll call votes split along party lines.

Last week, the Judiciary Committee forwarded the names of two nominees for the Northern District of Georgia to the Senate floor, where they await a final vote. Alston & Bird partner Michael Brown was approved in a voice vote, but the panel split along party lines in a roll call vote on Georgia Court of Appeals Judge William Ray.

Self, who also served a decade as a Macon Judicial Circuit Superior Court judge, marks the third generation of judges in his family. Both his grandfather, for whom he is named, and his uncle served as county probate judges. Gov. Nathan Deal named Self to the state appellate court last year.

Self appeared before the committee Oct. 4 where he was introduced by Georgia's two senators, including David Perdue. In his introduction, Sen. Johnny Isakson said Tripp was “not just a man who can call balls and strikes or officiate in a courtroom, he's also a Southern Conference [football] official and did the national championship game in 2017.”

That prompted a rejoinder from South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham. “If you can ref in the SEC, this will be a piece of cake being a judge.” he said.