In the spirit of Charlie Kirk, I’d like to offer a respectful rebuttal to my friend, Ken Blackwell, and explain my support for Ms. Rebecca Taibleson’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Mr. Blackwell is correct: “President Trump took a bullet for us, and we owe it to him to protect his legacy.”
It’s also true the president has expressed frustrations in the past about some of his nominees – and yet he’s been much more successful in picking judges who respect the rule of law and apply the text of the law as written than any other GOP president in recent memory.
In fact, the past five terms by the Supreme Court have had the most conservative rulings in decades – and that’s because the three Trump nominees from his first term contributed to important wins during the Biden administration.
The Federalist reported last week that so far in his second term, Trump has an 18-0 winning streak at the Supreme Court, with 21 wins overall, and we’re barely nine months in.
Mr. Blackwell accuses Ms. Taibleson of submitting a donation through ActBlue to then-Sen. Joe Manchin “during a time when people were pushing him to run as an alternative to Trump.” But it also happens to have been during a time when Sen. Manchin was one of the only remaining Democrat voices in the Senate urging protection of the filibuster. Her contribution to Manchin also came after his crucial vote to confirm Justice Kavanaugh, whom Taibleson eloquently defended, to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Blackwell also levies the charge that Taibleson is untrustworthy because she “intentionally interned for the Obama D.O.J.” and, although she worked in the Solicitor General’s office during Trump 1.0, she remained after Biden was inaugurated.
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Any young lawyer eager to build on their experience would be thrilled to intern at the Department of Justice — regardless of who occupies the White House. DOJ internships are some of the most prestigious opportunities available to law students.
During the transition period from Trump 1.0 to Biden, Taibleson had three young children and waited out the end of the school year in June 2021 before returning the family to Wisconsin.
Moreover, any career attorney who believes in the mission of federal law enforcement should not be compelled to quit working for the American people simply because the Oval Office changes hands. Demanding someone refuse to work for the government simply because of the outcome of an election is part of the Left’s playbook; it should not be adopted by the Right. Conservatives value public service and realize the importance of people of integrity serving in government regardless of the political leadership.
Mr. Blackwell says that Ms. Taibleson “earned liberal Senator Tammy Baldwin’s support,” which is not correct. Tammy Baldwin cooperated with the nominating commission that recommended Taibleson, as has been the tradition of Wisconsin senators going back decades. For her part, Baldwin has not announced if she would vote for Taibleson (and I have little doubt she will not). Meanwhile, there are no doubts Senator Baldwin’s conservative MAGA Wisconsin counterpart, Senator Ron Johnson, wholeheartedly supports and is advocating for Taibleson.
He also points out that Ms. Taibleson supported a person for Wisconsin appellate judge who, despite running as a conservative, may not be a conservative. That judicial candidate was supported by a number of conservatives and the local Republican Party, and participated in get out the vote efforts with Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action.
Many conservative and Republican lawyers I work with from Wisconsin messaged me to say they were ecstatic and supportive of Taibleson, including some of the names who were mentioned for the very nomination that went to Taibleson.
In his closing argument, Mr. Blackwell admits there were two other potential nominees he preferred would have been chosen over Ms. Taibleson. I understand the sentiment, as I would have picked Neomi Rao for the Supreme Court, but it’s always President Trump’s pick. That, and Trump’s winning streak in the Supreme Court and record in the circuit courts has taught me to trust him.
In fact, the same could be said of many of Trump’s choices over the years – and most of us have learned to trust the process and give it time to play out.
Many conservatives were wary of the appointments of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to serve in Trump’s second term, and yet both Secretary Kennedy and DNI Director Gabbard have proven themselves worthy of President Trump’s trust as they are valuable members of the administration.
There were knives out by some on the Right for the nomination of Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense/War – and yet military recruiting has skyrocketed, Secretary Hegseth has publicly put a stop to the DEI practices across branches, and the American people have more faith in their military leadership than under the heavily decorated and widely praised generals who came before him.
Returning to Mr. Blackwell’s opening argument, “President Trump took a bullet for us, and we owe it to him to protect his legacy.”
I agree, Ken.
And because Trump refused to be broken by the unprecedented lawfare in the courts, challenged (and beat) the outright lies from the media (and are now forcing them to fund his presidential library), and yes, took a bullet for us – we owe it to the president to give his nominees a fair hearing, consideration, and benefit of the doubt when it is HIS legacy he is trying to build.
Michael Thielen is President and Executive Director of the Republican National Lawyers Association. www.RNLA.org
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