Americans for Prosperity on Thursday announced its support for Michael Brennan, President Trump’s nominee to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and will run ads backing Brennan ahead of his confirmation vote.
Brennan is the first federal lower court nominee that the conservative group, which is backed by GOP mega-donors Charles and David Koch, is supporting since announcing its plans to investment in judicial engagement.
“Brennan’s exceptional record as a lawyer and jurist makes him an outstanding nominee for the Seventh Circuit, and he should be confirmed by the Senate immediately,” Sarah Field, AFP’s vice president of judicial strategy, said in a statement. “We urge the citizens of Wisconsin to get involved and contact their senators in Brennan’s support. Each day that passes without this vacancy filled means another day where American citizens are denied the justice guaranteed to them by the Constitution.”
Brennan’s nomination passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a party-line vote last week. The vote was criticized by Democrats on the panel because Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., failed to return her “blue slip” for Brennan. In recent years, committees have waited for both of the nominee’s home-state senators to signal their approval by returning these slips before committee work starts.
Americans for Prosperity plans to run digital ads in Wisconsin encouraging voters there to contact their senators and urge them to confirm Brennan to the federal bench. The group said it plans to specifically target Baldwin.
“We applaud Senator Grassley for ushering Brennan through committee and ignoring the political games of Senator Baldwin, who continues to value partisanship over the best interests of her constituents,” Field said. “We will continue mobilizing our activists as needed to ensure fair and qualified nominees are confirmed to the federal bench, and we will hold accountable those who play games with the American judiciary.”
Americans for Prosperity announced last month plans to launch a six-figure campaign backing Trump’s judicial nominees.
The conservative group said it is laying the groundwork for the next vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. As part of its efforts to ramp up judicial engagement, Americans for Prosperity said it will educate activists in 36 states in preparation for a vacancy on the high court and mobilize them to push for the confirmations of Trump’s lower court nominees.
