ABA ramps up defense of judges as White House dismisses 'snooty' lawyers

By Karen Sloan

March 4 (Reuters) - The American Bar Association on Monday condemned what it called “inappropriate” attacks on judges by Trump administration officials, prompting the White House to dismiss the ABA as a “snooty” organization of “leftist lawyers.”

The war of words comes amid escalating tension between the Trump administration and the federal judiciary, which has emerged as a hurdle to the president’s early agenda.

“We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not,” ABA President William Bay said in a statement on the organization’s website.

A White House spokesperson on Tuesday said the American people had rebuked the “weaponization of the justice system” when they elected Trump.

“President Trump represents the people, not a board of snooty, leftist lawyers,” wrote White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields in an email.

The ABA, the nation's largest voluntary lawyer organization with about 150,000 paying members, declined further comment.

The organization's statement pushed back against the idea that judges should be governed by public sentiment.

“Judges swear oaths to follow the law, not public opinion polling or political chatter or what someone contends is the will of the people,” Bay wrote, adding that the judiciary must be treated as a co-equal branch of government.

Bay’s statement came three weeks after the ABA first warned that the new administration's "chaotic" approach is threatening the rule of law.

Since Trump took office, federal judges have stymied some of his efforts to cut spending, pare down the federal workforce, and eliminate DEI programs.

Those decisions — and the judges who issued them — have drawn public criticism from high-ranking officials including Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk, who is heading up the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.

"I’d like to propose that the worst 1% of appointed judges, as determined by elected bodies, be fired every year. This will weed out the most corrupt and least competent," Musk posted on his social media platform X on Feb. 8 after a judge temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury Department systems.

Conservative U.S. House of Representatives members have initiated long-shot bids to impeach three federal judges who have ruled against Trump initiatives in recent weeks.

Trump himself has called judges “activist” and “highly political” on social media.

The ABA president on Monday said critics of the judiciary have offered no evidence to back up their claims of “corrupt judges.” He also criticized Trump’s suspension of security clearances for Covington & Burling lawyers representing former Special Counsel Jack Smith and his move to limit the U.S. government's business with the firm.

“If the ABA and lawyers do not speak, who will speak for the organized bar?” the group said. “Who will speak for the judiciary? Who will protect our system of justice?"

Read more:

Trump, allies ramp up attacks on judges as Musk calls for impeachments

American Bar Association says rule of law is under 'attack'