Five Questions with Former Senator Russ Feingold

On federal judges & more

Russ Feingold was a United States Senator from 1993 to 2011. He served on the Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Budget, and Intelligence Committees. Russ was Chairman or Ranking Member of the Constitution Subcommittee. Given his commitment to Justice issues, it comes as no surprise that since February 2020, he has served as the president of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS).

ACS is the nation’s foremost progressive legal organization, with a nationwide network of nearly 200 student and lawyer chapters. The group is a Democratic counterbalance to the conservative Federalist Society. Its mission statement includes the charge “to support and advocate for laws and legal systems that redress the founding failures of our Constitution, strengthen our democratic legitimacy, uphold the rule of law, and realize the promise of equality for all.”

Chief among the issues ACS has taken on under Senator Feingold is making sure the White House has access to a pipeline of highly qualified, diverse judicial nominees across the country. That focus has supported efforts by the Biden Administration to fill vacancies as quickly as Senate politics permit. With the election approaching, we are fortunate to have Senator Feingold as our guest for Five Questions tonight, to talk with us about where the administration is on appointing judges, as well as some other important priorities. These past few months have given us a real-time lesson in how important the caliber of people a president appoints to the federal bench are, as we watch judges with different temperaments, like Tanya Chutkan and Aileen Cannon, handle Trump-related matters before them, Tonight, we’ll learn more about that process that puts judges on the bench.

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