Matthew T. Schelp

Education

Schelp earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Juris Doctor from the University of Missouri.

Career

Upon graduation from law school, Schelp served in the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. Schelp served for nearly a decade as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri and co-founded a boutique law firm in St. Louis with Jeffrey Jensen. Prior to becoming a judge, he was a partner at Husch Blackwell in St. Louis, Missouri, where his practice focused on Governance, risk management, and compliance, investigations, and litigation. A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on December 4, 2019. On January 3, 2020, his nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate. Later that day, he was re-nominated to the same seat. On January 16, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 16–6 vote. On February 11, 2020, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 72–22 vote. On February 12, 2020, his nomination was confirmed by a 72–23 vote. He received his judicial commission on August 4, 2020.

Notable rulings

On November 29, 2021 he ruled against a federal vaccination mandate for health care workers in ten states. The opinion was called "misleading" and "highly disingenuous" as it falsely indicated the vaccine did not reduce transmission. The cited filing by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services could not quantify its rule's impact due to uncertainty about the extent of transmission among vaccinated individuals but did state with evidence that it certainly decreased transmission risk.

Memberships

He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2015.