Judges won't extend Brad Schimel's appointment as US Attorney - WPR

Federal judges in Milwaukee have announced that they won’t extend former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel’s temporary appointment as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, meaning his appointment will expire next week.

Schimel was tapped by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Nov. 17, just months after losing last year’s election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The appointment came after a state nominating committee chaired by Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson couldn’t agree on who to pick for the role. Under federal law, that meant Schimel’s interim appointment had to end March 17, unless a majority of judges in the Eastern District agreed to extend it.

On Tuesday, the district’s website announced the majority “declines to exercise this permissive authority.”

“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. To the credit of that office, from the Court’s perspective, it has continued to represent the citizens of this district well,” said the announcement.

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The statement said the judges await the “nomination and confirmation of a full-time United States Attorney by the President and United State Senate.”

Schimel didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the judges’ decision.

Last week, Baldwin issued a statement opposing Schimel continuing to serve as U.S. Attorney after his 120-day appointment was up, claiming President Donald Trump’s administration “has tried to skirt this law to keep other interim U.S. Attorneys, who are ardent supporters of the President, in place longer.”

In response, Schimel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he didn’t know where Baldwin’s “vitriol” was coming from.

Schimel served as Wisconsin Attorney General from 2015-2019 alongside former Republican Gov. Scott Walker. After both men lost their 2018 reelection campaigns, Walker appointed Schimel to the Waukesha County Circuit Court.

In late 2023, Schimel announced his campaign for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. His entry into the race came more than a year before the election, which he lost to now-Justice Susan Crawford.

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