After five months of waiting, Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Elizabeth “Lisa” Branch will be moving to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Branch's appointment Tuesday by a vote of 73-23.

“Lisa Branch is an outstanding jurist of renown, and I am glad that her talents will serve more Georgians and Americans on the federal level,” Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said in a news release following the vote. “She will be a great judge for the United States, and I am pleased that the Senate has confirmed this qualified nominee so she can get to work.”

Isakson also spoke “with a great sense of pride and honor” on Branch's behalf before the vote as well as in her confirmation hearing in December.

President Donald Trump nominated Branch to the federal bench in September 2017. When the year closed without a vote, Branch's nomination was returned to the president at the end of 2017. She was re-nominated in early January. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved her appointment on a bipartisan vote of 19-2 on Jan. 18.

Branch has served as the 77th judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals since Sept. 4, 2012. Previously, she was a partner in the commercial litigation practice group at Smith, Gambrell & Russell in Atlanta, where she began her legal career. Branch served as a senior official in the administration of President George W. Bush as counselor to the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the U. S. Office of Management and Budget and as an associate general counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Branch graduated from Davidson College and received her law degree from Emory University.

Prior to Tuesday's vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., praised Branch on the Senate floor, applauding her “fine career that spanned both private practice and public service.”

Katheryn Hayes Tucker is an Atlanta-based reporter covering legal news for the Daily Report and other ALM publications.