The WH Is Standing By One Of Trump's Controversial Judicial Picks -- At Least Until The Midterms
Wisconsin lawyer Gordon Giampietro once wrote that "calls for diversity" are "code for relaxed standards (moral and intellectual)," among other controversial statements.
Originally posted on June 5, 2018, at 5:27 p.m.
Updated on June 5, 2018, at 7:04 p.m.
Zoe Tillman
BuzzFeed News Reporter
Washington, DC
Reporting From
Washington, DC
The White House is waiting to see if Wisconsin's Democratic senator, Tammy Baldwin, wins in November before they decide what to do with one of President Donald Trump's controversial judicial nominees.
Gordon Giampietro, a lawyer in Milwaukee, was nominated in December for a seat on the US District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. BuzzFeed News in February reported disparaging comments Giampietro had made online and in interviews about diversity, same-sex relationships, and birth control. Civil rights groups oppose his nomination, as does Baldwin, who wrote to the White House last month urging them to withdraw his name.
A White House official familiar with the process told BuzzFeed News there are no plans to pull Giampietro's nomination, but the official acknowledged that without Baldwin's support, Giampietro is unlikely to get a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The official said they would keep his nomination active until the midterm elections — Baldwin is up for reelection — and then decide what to do.
If Baldwin loses in November and a Republican takes her seat, that could give Giampietro a path to confirmation. If she wins, however, and does not change her position on Giampietro, the White House would consider withdrawing the nomination, the official said. Trump won Wisconsin by one point in 2016, and conservative groups have already spent millions of dollars in an effort to oust Baldwin, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
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