July 22, 2025 – The Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission’s recommendations for appointment as judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently landed at the White House for potential nomination by President Donald Trump.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who re-established the bipartisan commission in April, approved the Federal Nominating Commission’s list of potential candidates to fill Chief Judge Sykes’ seat. She will take senior status in October.
The six-member commission accepts applications for federal positions in Wisconsin for U.S. attorneys and judges appointed to the federal courts in Wisconsin.
The purpose of the commission, according to its charter, includes to “[h]elp ensure that qualified, conscientious, and dedicated individuals are appointed to serve the public as judges.”
The commission fulfills that role through reviewing applications and “[r]ecommend[ing] the nomination of not less than four nor more than six individuals who are the most qualified of those considered to serve.”
Judicial Recommendations
The commission completed those duties recently. Senators Johnson and Baldwin signed a letter to President Trump, dated July 15, forwarding five recommendations to fill the judicial vacancy.
Jay D. Jerde, Mitchell Hamline 2006, is a legal writer for the State Bar of Wisconsin, Madison. He can be reached by email or by phone at (608) 250-6126.
The recommendations include Attorney Joseph A. Bugni of Hurley Burish, S.C. in Madison; Milwaukee Circuit Court Judges Cynthia Mae Davis and Kevin E. Martens; Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District III, Judge Thomas M. Hruz; and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Rebecca L. Taibleson.
As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the White House has already reviewed 19 applicants on its own and brought in at least five of them for interviews with White House staff, including Bugni and Taibleson.
President Trump last nominated Milwaukee Attorney Michael Brennan in 2017 to fill a previous vacancy on the Seventh Circuit. Brennan was approved by the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee – despite some partisan wrangling – before confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He has served on the Seventh Circuit bench since 2018.
About the Federal Nominating Commission
The Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission has been making recommendations to Wisconsin's U.S. senators since 1979.
According to Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. President "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint" federal judges. The president also appoints U.S. attorneys. By tradition, the president defers to the recommendations of the home state's U.S. senators for these positions.
In 1979, Wisconsin's two U.S. senators, William Proxmire and Gaylord Nelson, established the Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission, a tradition that has continued to the present day. Democratic and Republican senators have used the commission for federal judicial and U.S. attorney vacancies, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Sen. Baldwin and Sen. Johnson reestablished the bipartisan Wisconsin Federal Nominating Commission as of April 18, 2025, to provide recommendations for nominations during the 119th Congress for U.S. Attorneys and federal judicial positions.
The State Bar of Wisconsin will continue to provide administrative support to the commission, co-chaired by attorneys Paul Swanson and Christine Bremer Muggli.
