U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, slammed the “illegal stunt” to keep Brad Schimel in charge of the U.S. attorney’s office in Milwaukee.
But U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, praised the move, saying it would provide time to find a full-time U.S. attorney.
U.S. AG Pam Bondi appointed Schimel first assistant U.S. attorney a week after the judges on the Eastern District of Wisconsin declined to extend his appointment as the interim leader of the office. Making Schimel first assistant U.S. attorney means he will have the same role and responsibilities leading the office as he did after Bondi appointed him interim in November.
After the judges declined to keep him in the post, Johnson and Baldwin talked about using the Federal Nominating Commission for a second time to try finding candidates to be appointed to the position. The commission last year failed to reach consensus on any candidates, leading to Bondi appointing Schimel to the interim post four months ago.
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“I’m glad Brad Schimel can continue to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office as first assistant, giving our commission time to recommend and the Senate time to confirm a full-time U.S. attorney,” Johnson said.
Bondi has made similar moves in other states. That includes appointing Melissa Holyoak the first assistant U.S. attorney in Utah after her interim appointment expired. She is awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate for a permanent appointment to the job.
In California last year, Bondi appointed Bilal Essayli, a former federal prosecutor and GOP member of the California Legislature, as interim U.S. attorney for the Central District. With that interim appointment expiring, she tried to extend his tenure by naming him the first assistant in the same office and then elevating him to acting U.S. attorney. A federal judge concluded the move was unlawful, though he allowed Essayli to keep running the office without the “acting” title.
“Once again, Donald Trump is trying to skirt the law and make an end run around the process that Senator Johnson and I have set up,” Baldwin said. “Finding common ground and compromise has been the Wisconsin way for decades when it comes to finding high-quality, impartial prosecutors, and that is what Wisconsinites deserve – not this illegal stunt.”
