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GSA and Congressman O’Rourke host dedication ceremony for federal courthouse in El Paso, Texas

Federal courthouse named after R.E. Thomason

EL PASO, Texas — Today, the U.S. General Services Administration along with U.S. Congressman Beto O’Rourke and Mayor Dee Margo joined to commemorate the naming of the R.E. Thomason Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.  

“We are proud to honor and memorialize R.E. Thomason for his important contributions to El Paso, the Western District of Texas and the House of Representatives,” said GSA Acting Regional Administrator Jim Weller.

“As mayor of El Paso, Speaker of the Texas House, a Congressman representing our members of the military on the Armed Services Committee and as a federal judge, R.E. Thomason not only embodied what it means to be a public servant, but he did so while never taking his eyes off our community,” said Congressman O’Rourke. “His leadership is remembered by looking at our airport, Big Bend National Park, the expansion of Fort Bliss and now our federal courthouse.”

Robert Ewing Thomason  (1879-1973) was born in Tennessee and moved with his parents to Texas in 1880. He received a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Texas School of Law in 1900. From 1917 to 1921, Thomason was a member of the Texas House of Representatives and began serving as speaker in 1920 and 1921. He served as the Mayor of El Paso from 1927 to 1930, and was elected to the 72nd United States Congress as a Democrat in 1930. Thomason served from March 4, 1931, until his resignation on July 31, 1947, to take a seat on the federal bench.

Thomason served as a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. He was nominated by President Harry S. Truman on April 24, 1947, to a seat vacated by Charles A. Boynton. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 3, 1947, and received commission on June 5, 1947. He assumed senior status on June 1, 1963. He served in senior status in El Paso until his death there on November 8, 1973.

To learn more about GSA’s historic properties, visit GSA’s Historic Buildings.

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Last updated: Mar 2, 2023
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