By Zach Schonfeld | Wednesday, May 27
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By Zach Schonfeld
Wednesday, May 27
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Trump, GOP compel ABA to rethink DEI plan
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The American Bar Association (ABA) is moving closer to rolling back a key diversity initiative in an effort to hang on as the nation’s law school accreditor while the Trump administration and Republicans ramp up pressure on such DEI initiatives.
In recent years, conservatives have looked to sideline the ABA over concerns it leans politically to the left. They no longer view it as a neutral group that can be trusted.
Front and center in the fight are the ABA’s diversity initiatives.
Under what is known as Standard 206, law schools desiring accreditation must “demonstrate by concrete action a commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
The standard was suspended the month after Trump took office, and it’s not currently set to go into effect until at least August 2027. As conservatives aggressively push back, the ABA might now scrap it once and for all.
It heads to the ABA House of Delegates for consideration this summer at their annual conference.
The development follows a 10-4 vote this month to repeal the diversity standard by the Accreditation Council. It technically operates independently from the ABA and plays a key role in the process.
“The Council’s actions today represent part of a comprehensive effort to streamline and simplify the minimum requirements for law schools consistent with its Core Principles and Values,” Daniel Theis, the council’s chair, said in a statement.
Repealing the diversity standard is a win for conservatives who’ve helped lead the fight against the ABA for years.
I heard Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) make his case back in the fall at a Federalist Society conference. He lamented the ABA’s public stances on transgender rights, abortion and other politically charged issues and went on to accuse the group of being biased against conservative judicial nominees.
“I would argue the ABA has really become an extension, an arm of, a political left-wing party,” Uthmeier told the hotel meeting room filled with legal conservatives.
Rolling back the diversity standard is an explicit effort to respond to that type of criticism and recent rulings from state supreme courts in places like Texas.
And beyond the state-by-state pushback, The Trump administration is mounting pressure as well.
Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson has barred political appointees from renewing their ABA membership.
And now eyes are turning to the Education Department. It has already demanded other accreditors drop their diversity standards, and the department later this year will decide whether to renew the ABA council’s status.
It’s led to increasing worries that the ABA’s authority to set standards at roughly 200 accredited J.D. programs across the country are threatened unless it acts.
To get a sense, just read the formal recommendation submitted to councilmembers ahead of the repeal vote:
“The Council is committed to ensuring that this national system of accreditation continues, as it is essential for law students and graduates to know that their degrees are recognized in all jurisdictions regardless of the Council-accredited law school from which they graduate. This consumer protection function is paramount and is jeopardized by a balkanized system,” it read.
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Welcome to The Gavel, The Hill’s weekly newsletter unpacking the intersection of courts and politics from Zach Schonfeld. Click above to email me tips, or reach out on X () or Signal ().
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Shooting near White House ups pressure for ballroom
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White House shooting jolts ballroom fight
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The Justice Department is renewing its push to clear the way for President Trump’s ballroom following Saturday night’s shooting outside the White House.
“This second attack on the President this month underscores the critical need for top level, state of the art security at the White House, including the Ballroom,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward wrote in court filings.
Nasire Best, 21, was killed after exchanging gunfire with Secret Service officers near the White House on Saturday evening, law enforcement said. Trump was in the White House at the time but was unharmed.
It’s now the second armed incident to make its way into the legal fight over Trump’s ballroom. The Justice Department has pointed to the incident and last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting to make the case that the project is vital for national security..
Just like the post-dinner push, the Justice Department’s new filing again uses rhetorical style similar to Trump’s Truth Social feed.
“This is a terrible, tremendously harmful case to the United States of America, and all it stands for!” the filing read.
It also suggested the judge is putting national security at risk by forcing the government to disclose design details for the ballroom. The new filing indicates the project includes a “drone proof” roof, military grade venting, bomb shelters, a hospital and missile-resistant columns.
“The under construction East Wing Project, which is on time and under budget, includes state of the art security features to repel all attacks against the President, his family, his staff, and esteemed visitors,” the filing reads.
Construction is continuing as an appeals court mulls the case and gears up to hear oral arguments a week from Friday. It will consider reversing U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s ruling that the project needed congressional authorization and must stop.
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- Anti-weaponization fund faces lawsuits: Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund now faces multiple lawsuits. Police officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, a watchdog and the city of New Haven, Conn., have all filed separate challenges.
- Alabama map boomerangs to SCOTUS: A three-judge panel tossed Alabama Republicans’ congressional map on Tuesday, ruling the Supreme Court’s decision narrowing the Voting Rights Act still does not allow it to go into effect Republicans have vowed to immediately appeal the case to the justices in the hopes of enacting it for the midterms.
- Abrego Garcia charges tossed: A federal judge on Friday dismissed human smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the mistakenly deported man who last year became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. The judge ruled he was likely vindictively prosecuted.
- Khalil heads to SCOTUS: Columbia University graduate and activist Mahmoud Khalil, another face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, has announced he will petition the Supreme Court to review his case.
- Comey trial delayed: A judge on Tuesday agreed to push back former FBI Director James Comey’s criminal trial over his “86 45” Instagram post from July to October 21. It gives Comey more time to file his pre-trial motions.
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- Thomas, Kavanaugh at White House: Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas attended new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s swearing in last week in the East Room. Thomas delivered the oath. Kavanaugh worked in the Bush White House at the same time as Warsh. It comes as the justices mull whether Trump can fire one of Warsh’s colleagues, Lisa Cook.
- Republican attorneys general go on offense: The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) and affiliated groups are reserving nearly $11 million in initial television advertising this fall across six key battlegrounds. Adam Piper, the group’s executive vice president, in a statement described it as “merely a down payment on the resources RAGA will marshal this fall.”
- Jack Smith’s report disguised as.... cake: A former federal prosecutor was indicted for allegedly emailing herself an unreleased volume of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report into President Trump. The indictment says she disguised it by calling the file name, “Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf,”
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Cases the Supreme Court is taking up — or passing on — this term
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In: Immigration judge fight
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The Supreme Court took up and immediately ruled on a case concerning immigration judges’ speech rights. We previously highlighted it as one to watch, Margolin v. National Association of Immigration Judges.
At this stage, the fight didn’t actually concern the speech issue. The justices reversed an appeals ruling allowing the case to proceed in open court. Instead, it will go before a specialty board that hears federal employee disputes.
The justices agreed with the Trump administration that the appeals court improperly latched onto a legal argument that no party had raised.
“Federal courts are not ‘roving commissions,’” the justices ruled.
Two of the court’s conservatives, Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, went further. Even if the argument was properly raised, the duo said it was wrong.
“The Fourth Circuit’s analysis bears little resemblance to legal interpretation,” Thomas wrote.
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Out: Commercial drivers license fight, NFL
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The justices declined Florida’s bid to invoke the Supreme Court’s narrow authority to hear lawsuits in the first instance.
The high court has original jurisdiction to hear cases between two or more states. So, Florida launched its lawsuit directly against California and Washington state.
The dispute, Florida v. California, concerned blue states’ commercial drivers’ licenses (CDL).
Florida attempted to ensure other states only issue licenses to people with legal status and English proficiency. The suit landed as officials reported several fatal crashes around the country caused by truck drivers who were in the country illegally.
Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito dissented. They have long said the Supreme Court is obligated to take original jurisdiction cases, even if they should ultimately be rejected.
“I doubt this Court has discretion to refuse to hear cases within its exclusive original jurisdiction,” Thomas wrote.
Separately, the court turned away the NFL’s bid to force coach Brian Flores’ racial discrimination lawsuit into arbitration. Dive deeper here.
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Petitions for the Supreme Court to take up cases I'm keeping an eye on
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- Alan Dershowitz’ defamation suit: Alan Dershowitz seeks to revive his defamation lawsuit against CNN over the network’s coverage of the longtime Harvard law professor’s statements defending Trump during his first impeachment trial. Dershowitz wants the justices to use his case to reexamine the “actual malice” standard required for public figures to prove defamation claims. The case is Dershowitz v. Cable News Network.
- Immigration court absences: Federal law allows immigration courts to enter “in absentia” orders when a migrant fails to appear at their hearing, enabling them to be deported. But the government must provide sufficient notice. The Trump administration wants the justices to review an appeals ruling concerning requirements for when the government provides notice via certified mail. The Justice Department says it lets evaders off the hook. The case is United States v. Leopoldo Rivera-Valdes.
- Halfway house transfer: A Texas man convicted over his role in an organized crime racketeering conspiracy is petitioning the justices to review his request to be transferred to a halfway house or home confinement. He has requested it through what is known as a habeas petition, but an appeals court ruled it was the wrong mechanism. The case is Maxwell v. Thomas.
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Don’t be surprised if additional hearings are scheduled throughout the week. But here’s what I'm watching for now:
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- A federal judge in Washington, D.C., will hold a hearing to consider blocking Bureau of Prisons guidance issued earlier this year restricting gender-affirming care access for transgender inmates.
- A federal judge in San Jose, Calif., will hold a bench trial in a lawsuit brought by Stanford University’s student newspaper and two anonymous students. They claim Secretary of State Marco Rubio is unconstitutionally allowing some international students to be deported.
- Matthew Perry’s former assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, will be sentenced in Los Angeles after pleading guilty to distributing ketamine resulting in death.
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- The Supreme Court is expected to release at least one opinion among their pending cases.
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- Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will appear behind closed doors before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee over her handling of the Epstein files.
- Former Arcadia, Calif., Mayor Eileen Wang (D) is scheduled to plead guilty after admitting to working as an illegal agent of the Chinese government.
- Former Des Moines, Iowa, schools Superintendent Ian Roberts is scheduled to be sentenced after he pleaded guilty to falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and possessing a firearm while in the country unlawfully.
- The Trump administration will go before a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to try to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Mary Comans, who was fired from her Federal Emergency Management Agency position after disbursing funding to New York City for a migrant shelter program.
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- The Supreme Court will release an order list, which includes announcements on cases they will take up for the next term.
- A federal judge in Los Angeles will consider California’s bid to block the restarting of two onshore oil pipelines in the state. The Energy Department invoked the Defense Production Act to do so.
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- A federal judge in Boston will consider a summary judgment motion from 23 Democratic-led states seeking to block Trump’s executive order restricting mail voting.
- A U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit panel will hear oral arguments on the Trump administration’s bid to lift a judge’s order requiring it to restore slavery exhibits at the nation’s one-time executive mansion in Philadelphia.
- Twenty Democratic-led states head to another federal judge in Boston, who will consider their request to block Trump-era requirements that federal agriculture grant recipients don’t promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
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We’ll be back next Wednesday with additional reporting and insights. In the meantime, keep up with our coverage here.
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