Bar Association: ‘Deeply Disturbing’ That Pam Bondi Cut Us Out Of Vetting Trump’s Court Picks
In a new letter, the president of the American Bar Association (ABA), William Bay, strongly disagrees with claims made by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that the ABA is a politically biased group. He says those accusations aren’t backed up by any real evidence.
This comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi made a surprising move by cutting the ABA out of the process used to review people nominated for lifetime positions as federal judges by President Donald Trump. The ABA has been part of that process for over 70 years. Bay called Bondi’s decision both “deeply disturbing” and unlike anything that’s ever been done before.
In his detailed letter to Bondi, Bay explains that the ABA does not take sides politically and has never supported or opposed nominees based on party lines. He says the group’s role has always been to independently and thoroughly assess each judicial nominee’s qualifications. This includes reviewing past legal work, talking to people who know the nominee professionally, and conducting detailed interviews.
Bay said he was surprised and disappointed that the Justice Department decided to block the ABA’s access to nominees and the information needed to evaluate them. He warned that this change could make the entire process of confirming judges less open and transparent, and that the DOJ’s reasoning was based on incorrect assumptions.
He made it clear that the ABA doesn’t promote any judge or political viewpoint. Its job is to offer honest, professional opinions to help the Senate and the public better understand who’s being nominated to these important positions.
Bay also said that he never received Bondi’s letter personally he only heard about it through social media and is still waiting for an official copy.
Meanwhile, under Trump’s second term, only five people have been nominated so far for lifetime federal judge positions. These individuals all seem to share similar records—opposing abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and civil rights and all are white. Critics from both progressive and neutral organizations say these nominees are too extreme in their views.
What’s different this time around is that Trump seems driven more by revenge against his political opponents. This can be seen in his public attacks on judges who don’t rule in his favor. One example is Emil Bove, a former Trump lawyer and DOJ official, who has now been nominated for a lifetime seat on a federal appeals court.
