Judges Decline to Extend US Attorney’s Tenure in Wisconsin (1)

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin has declined to extend the tenure of the Trump administration’s interim US attorney in Milwaukee.

Brad Schimel’s appointment expires on March 17 and a majority of the judge’s on the court declined to exercise their authority to appoint him to continue serving until the vacancy is filled, according to a Tuesday notice on the court’s website

“In doing so, the Court intends no criticism or commentary on the performance or qualifications of the Interim United States Attorney or any of the attorneys in the United States Attorney’s Office,” the court’s notice said. “To the credit of that office, from the Court’s perspective, it has continued to represent the citizens of this district well.”

The notice added that “The Court awaits the nomination and confirmation of a full-time United States Attorney by the President and United States Senate.”

Schimel, who hasn’t been formally nominated for the position, joins a number of President Donald Trump’s US attorney picks who courts have declined to appoint upon the expiration of their interim terms. Some courts have attempted to instead install their own picks, prompting immediate firings and pushback from Justice Department leadership.

Under federal vacancy law, federal courts have the authority to appoint an individual to lead the US attorney’s office after an interim appointee’s term expires and before the vacancy is filled by a Senate-confirmed pick.

Federal Judges in the Northern District of New York and Eastern District of Virginia appointed their own US attorneys last month, though Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche quickly announced their firings on social media.

Blanche and other DOJ leadership maintain that the president has sole authority to appoint US attorneys and are defending the administration in litigation challenging the legal maneuvers DOJ has used to keep its preferred picks in place. Federal judges have so far found that the DOJ’s appointments run afoul of federal vacancy law.

The court’s decision on Schimel was reported earlier by local media outlets in Milwaukee.

Schimel, who was appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi to the role in November, previously served as state attorney general, county district attorney, and judge in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

As interim US attorney, Schimel oversaw the prosecution of Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who a federal jury ultimately convicted in December of obstructing a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of a migrant who appeared in her courtroom as a defendant on domestic violence charges.

DOJ representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.