Todd Gilbert Set to Start State 26th District Judicial Appointment Wednesday, July 1

As reported in March of this year, on July 1st, former two-decade Virginia House of Delegates Republican representative Todd Gilbert will be seated as a Virginia 26th District Court judge. Gilbert was officially sworn in to that position on June 26, 2026.

In addition to Warren County, Virginia’s 26th Judicial Circuit and District Courts serve Rockingham, Shenandoah, Page, Clarke, and Frederick Counties, as well as the Cities of Winchester and Harrisonburg.

As noted in the Senator Obenshain Office’s March Press Release acknowledging bipartisan support for the Gilbert State level appointment, “Todd Gilbert brings exceptional experience, sound judgment, and integrity to the bench. He has earned the respect of colleagues across the legal community and across party lines, and we are confident he will serve the citizens of the 26th Judicial District with distinction.”

Included in Gilbert’s 30 years of legal experience was a stint as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Warren County. His legal practice included 15 years as a prosecutor and 15 years as defense counsel in private practice.

His 20 years in the Virginia House of Delegates included time as Speaker of the House and chairman of the Criminal Law Subcommittee of the House Courts of Justice Committee. It may be noted that Gilbert received unanimous certification as eligible and qualified from the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees. “And he was unanimously elected by the General Assembly following the judicial selection process,” the Obenshain release noted.

An unexpected turn

Eyebrows were raised, and questions went unanswered when Gilbert unexpectedly resigned as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. That resignation came just five weeks after being sworn into the position following appointment by the Trump Administration Attorney General Pam Bondi.

It appeared to be a family affair when Todd Gilbert was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia. Courtesy Photo

As reported here on September 1, 2025, upon his unexpected August 25, 2025, resignation, “Unlike the opposition public reaction to many Trump Administration appointments, Gilbert had been anticipated to be an excellent fit with the credentials to back that ‘excellent’ appraisal up from both sides of the political aisle. Not even Virginia’s two Democratic U.S. Senators, Tim Kaine and John Warner, voiced any opposition to the appointment. In fact, a joint release from both senators’ offices expressed surprise, with perhaps even a hint of disappointment, at Gilbert’s announced resignation from that judicial appointment.”

The only comment we found attributed to Gilbert regarding his resignation was referenced in an August 21, 2025, story by Mason Willett at WHSV in Harrisonburg. Willett cited a Gilbert post on his “X” account, apparently referencing a character, Ron Burgundy from the movie Anchorman, who said, “Boy, that escalated quickly.”

And a positive personal recollection

And as a footnote, first recollected in that September 1, 2025, Royal Examiner story: “This reporter recalls casual political perspective conversations with Gilbert in the Warren County Courthouse during his tenure in the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office here. Our perspectives on the national political scene were regularly at odds, often leaving both of us shaking our heads at each other’s views at the end of a conversation.

“However, neither of us took those opposing viewpoints personally and could even later joke about them and remain on professional speaking terms without a problem.”

In September 2025, we concluded that, with Gilbert’s resignation as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, “It would seem from all angles, Virginia and its Shenandoah Valley have lost out …”

But now, with Gilbert’s judicial re-emergence at the State level in Virginia’s 26th Circuit and Judicial Court system, it would appear that Virginia and its Shenandoah Valley have regained at least some of what had been lost. I guess it’s too soon to hope for Gilbert’s return to a federal-level position.

Oh well, one step at a time.