Here's how it really works. From the names of those lawyers who have applied to be considered, a name is "suggested" by whoever is the state's senior senator of the same party as the president. Assuming the vetting checks out, the suggested person is then nominated. If neither senator is of the president's party (as is currently the case in Texas), then somehow the congressional delegation of the president's party gets involved; I forget the details.

(The late federal judge Norman Black in Houston, appointed by President Carter, was both well-liked and well-respected. He used to tell a joke: A trial lawyer is someone who knows how to try cases. A litigator is someone who knows how to take depositions. And a federal judge is someone who knows a U.S. senator.)