“DOJ cutting American Bar Association access to judicial nominees”

Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday that the Trump administration will no longer cooperate with the American Bar Association (ABA) in its evaluation of federal judicial nominees, citing long-standing concerns over the organization’s alleged political bias.

In a letter to ABA President William Bay, Bondi wrote that the ABA “no longer functions as a fair arbiter of nominees’ qualifications,” and claimed the group’s evaluations disproportionately favor nominees from Democratic administrations. As a result, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated it will end the longstanding practice of allowing the ABA early access to nominee records and will no longer direct nominees to respond to the organization’s questionnaires or participate in interviews.

“While the ABA is free to comment on judicial nominations along with other activist organizations, there is no justification for treating the ABA differently,” Bondi said, signaling the administration’s intent to view the ABA as a partisan group rather than an independent evaluator.

The ABA, which traditionally assesses the qualifications of judicial nominees before Senate confirmation hearings, did not issue a response to the DOJ’s letter.

This development echoes a similar policy from the Trump administration’s first term, when the White House distanced itself from the ABA’s role in the judicial vetting process. According to Ballotpedia, the ABA rated 264 of Trump’s judicial nominees during his first term: 187 were labeled “well-qualified,” 67 “qualified,” and 10 “not qualified.” While a minority of cases, the ten “not qualified” ratings contrasted with earlier administrations, which typically had no more than three such designations across their terms.

Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized the move, calling it “an unjustified and blatantly political” attempt to sidestep nonpartisan scrutiny. In a statement, Durbin warned that removing the ABA from the process would “ease the confirmation process for Trump nominees who have demonstrated bias, lack judicial temperament, or insufficient experience.”

The Trump administration has previously clashed with the ABA. In one instance, President Trump signed an executive order instructing the Department of Education to evaluate whether to suspend the ABA’s role as a law school accreditor. The administration also revoked federal grant funding tied to the ABA’s training programs abroad and domestic support efforts, including a Justice Department initiative for victims of sexual and domestic violence.

In one such case, a federal judge ruled that the DOJ’s decision to terminate the ABA’s grant funding violated the organization’s First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his opinion that the government offered no substantive justification for the funding cuts beyond internal DOJ sentiments about the ABA’s views.

As the Trump administration continues to reshape the federal judiciary, this latest step marks a significant break from a 70-year precedent of ABA involvement in the judicial nomination process.

Source article posted here: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5324916-doj-american-bar-association-judicial-nominees/

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