Grassley Opens Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting, Calls on Chief Justice Roberts to Address Minnesota Judges’ Potential Ethics Violations

Prepared Opening Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Executive Business Meeting
Thursday, September 24, 2026

On today’s agenda, we have 13 nominations.

We’ll vote on two judicial nominees: Anna St. John, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and Gregory Cook, for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

We’ll also vote on Adam Candeub to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division, as well as four nominees to serve on the U.S. Sentencing Commission: John Cronan, Jason Manion, Claire Murray and Luis Restrepo.

After that, we’ll vote on two U.S. Attorney nominees: Joy Thorp, for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, and Steven Weinhoeft, for the Southern District of Illinois.

Lastly, we’ll vote on four U.S. Marshal nominees: William Hardy, for the Northern District of Alabama, Philip Lewis, for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Seth Reister, for the Northern District of Florida, and Jurgen Soekhoe, for the District of Columbia.

Because we have a number of votes today, I’ll keep my remarks brief.

Last year, Chairman Jordan and I conducted oversight after high-profile instances where judges spoke anonymously to press outlets like the New York Times to degrade the Supreme Court.

Those actions appeared to violate the judicial canons contained in the Code of Conduct for United States Judges. They also undermined public confidence in the impartiality of the judicial branch.

In response to our oversight, the Judicial Conference issued an advisory opinion, which stated, “judges should always exercise caution when expressing their personal views to preserve the integrity of the judiciary and to promote public confidence in the courts.”

The Judicial Conference recognized that judges may publicly speak about limited topics, such as the history and operation of the courts and the importance of jury service, but it cautioned judges to consider the “tone, context and form … concerning the propriety of civic engagement and judicial speech.”

I’d hoped the Judicial Conference’s response would nip this issue in the bud. So, I was deeply disappointed when I saw last week’s publication in the New York Times.

More than half a dozen judges in Minnesota provided comments for an article about immigration enforcement. This included a 90-minute interview given by one judge.

Obviously, the Judicial Conference’s advisory opinion did not identify immigration enforcement as one of the exceptions for extrajudicial statements to the press and the tone, context and form of these judges’ comments were hardly measured.

For example, one judge criticized the Trump administration and the Justice Department’s efforts as a “grave threat to the rule of law.”

In another instance, a judge characterized the Justice Department’s actions as resulting from “incompetence.”

These statements are unacceptable.

When judges publicly criticize government officials, whether that be the Supreme Court then or the executive branch now, it undermines public confidence in the courts. And it destroys the perception of impartiality upon which the justice system relies.

Make no mistake, all Americans are entitled to disagree with government officials. That includes judges too. But with great power comes great responsibility.

Judges wield the power of a co-equal branch of government – to faithfully and impartially uphold the Constitution. With that comes the responsibility to preserve the integrity of the judiciary.

Federal judges should be issuing opinions and orders in accordance with the law, not giving quotes based on their personal views to the New York Times.

I hope the Chief Justice addresses this issue. My oversight will continue.

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