Daniel M. Traynor

Daniel Mack Traynor (born 1970)^[1] is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota.

Daniel M. Traynor
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota
Incumbent
Assumed office January 13, 2020
Appointed by	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Daniel L. Hovland
Personal details
Born	1970 (age 54–55) Devils Lake, North Dakota, U.S.
Political party	Republican[1]
Education	University of North Dakota (BA, JD)

Education

Traynor earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Dakota and his Juris Doctor, with distinction, from the University of North Dakota School of Law, where he served as an Associate Editor on the North Dakota Law Review.^[2]

Legal career

Upon graduation from law school, Traynor served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle of the North Dakota Supreme Court. From 1998 to 2019, he was a shareholder at the Traynor Law Firm in Devils Lake, North Dakota, where his practice focused on insurance defense, personal injury, and business litigation.^[2]

Federal judicial service

On August 28, 2019, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Traynor to serve as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. On September 19, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Daniel L. Hovland, who assumed senior status on November 10, 2019.^[3] Traynor was recommended for the district court by Senator Kevin Cramer, who announced his support for the nomination.^[4][5] On September 25, 2019, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.^[6] On October 31, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.^[7] On December 18, 2019, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 51–42 vote.^[8] On December 19, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 51–41 vote.^[9] He received his judicial commission on January 13, 2020.^[10]

Notable cases

Traynor dismissed Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in 2022, ruling that the suit was outside of the statute of limitations. In 2025, after the Supreme Court's ruling, Traynor ruled that the Federal Reserve "had acted outside the scope of its authority" in issuing regulation limiting interchange fees to a "reasonable and proportional" level.^[11]

Memberships

Traynor is a member of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education and former Chair of the Disciplinary Board of the North Dakota Supreme Court.^[2] He has been a member of the Federalist Society since 2016.^[1]