Overview

• Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a May 29 letter to ABA President William R. Bay formally withdrawing the Department of Justice’s compliance with the ABA’s judicial nominee ratings process.
• The decision strips the ABA of its exclusive advance access to nominees, ending pre-announcement notifications, questionnaire waivers and interviews.
• The DOJ said the ABA’s ratings system demonstrably favors nominees from Democratic administrations and lacks impartiality.
• Republican lawmakers have criticized the ABA’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts as evidence of left-wing bias in its evaluations.
• The move echoes past actions by the Bush and Trump administrations to limit the ABA’s role in the judicial vetting process.