Republicans Demand Trump Cut American Bar Association Out of Nominee Process

Several Republican senators are calling for President Donald Trump to take decisive action against the American Bar Association (ABA). In a strongly-worded letter to ABA President William Bay, the senators accused the organization, which plays a pivotal role in judicial nominations, of being "biased and ideologically captured." Their solution? They’re urging Trump to “remove the ABA from the judicial nomination process entirely.”

The group of senators — which includes Eric Schmitt, Ted Cruz, Marsha Blackburn, Josh Hawley, Bernie Moreno, and Mike Lee — also encouraged their colleagues in the Senate to "disregard the ABA’s recommendations." This is essentially the political equivalent of telling your friends to ignore the restaurant critic who gave your favorite taco truck a bad review.

In their letter, the lawmakers laid out a series of explosive allegations, including claims that the ABA has taken overtly political stances against the Trump administration and has remained silent about its receipt of funds from USAID, a federal aid organization that the Trump administration has been openly critical of. Apparently, the senators believe the ABA’s criticism of the administration’s stance on USAID funding disqualifies it from its role in judicial nominations.

The letter even quotes the ABA’s own statements, such as its February 10 condemnation of the "dismantling of USAID" and its March 3 criticism of efforts to "undermine the courts." Sen. Schmitt, for his part, has been particularly vocal, tweeting out the letter alongside his grievances with the ABA's February and March statements. He took issue with what he called "inflammatory claims" made by the ABA against the Trump administration, noting that the organization failed to provide legal justifications for their arguments.

The senators didn’t stop there. They pointed out what they see as glaring hypocrisy: while the ABA slammed the Trump administration for purported legal overreach, it stayed conspicuously quiet when former President Joe Biden defied the Supreme Court on student loan forgiveness. Ouch. That’s a double standard if I’ve ever seen one.

Another area of contention is the ABA’s promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, which have been a focal point of the Trump administration’s efforts to purge what it views as ideological bias in government institutions. The senators argue that the ABA is prioritizing its own agenda over its supposed commitment to defending liberty and the rule of law.

All of this adds up to a dramatic escalation in the long-simmering tension between the ABA and conservative lawmakers. Whether President Trump will heed their call and cut the ABA out of the judicial nomination process remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: this battle over influence in the judiciary is far from over.