Drew B. Tipton

Drew Barnett Tipton is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Education

Tipton served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve from 1988 to 1994 as a radio operator for an infantry battalion. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant.
After graduating law school, Tipton served as a law clerk to Judge John David Rainey of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He previously was in private practice with Marek, Griffin, & Knaupp and Littler Mendelson. From 1999 to 2020, he was part of BakerHostetler's Houston office and became a partner in 2002. His practice focused on complex employment law and trade secret litigation.

On January 15, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Tipton to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. On February 4, 2020, the nomination was sent to the Senate. Tipton was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Sim Lake, who assumed senior status on July 5, 2019. A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on February 12, 2020. On May 14, 2020, the nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. On June 3, 2020, the United States Senate invoked cloture on Tipton's nomination by a 53–42 vote. Later that day, his nomination was confirmed by a 52–41 vote. He received his judicial commission on June 15, 2020.

On January 26, 2021, Tipton enjoined an Executive Order issued by President Joe Biden, which halted the deportation of some illegal immigrants for a 100-day period by temporarily blocking the President from overturning the prior administration's immigration policy known as Migrant Protection Protocols.
On February 23, shortly before the temporary stay expired, Tipton ruled that Biden's executive order pausing deportations for 100 days exceeded presidential authority.
On September 15, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Tipton's ruling regarding Biden's executive order was incorrect, disagreeing with his reading of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and his disregard for the long-standing tradition of executive procedural authority. On November 30, 2021, the full Fifth Circuit vacated that three-judge panel's decision, thereby lifting the stay on Tipton's preliminary injunction. On July 21, 2022, the Supreme Court agreed hear the case and left in place Tipton's ruling striking down the Biden policy, which means that the Biden administration cannot implement it while it waits for the Supreme Court to hear argument and issue a decision.

On June 23, 2023, the Supreme Court overturned his ruling on 8–1 vote, on the grounds that Tipton did not have jurisdiction over the case.

He has been a member of the American Legion since 1999. He has been a member of the American Bar Association since 2000. From 2002 to 2008, he was a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Marine Corps Association. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Federalist Society. He has been a member of the Second Baptist Church in Houston, Texas since 2008.