With new title, Schimel still leads Wisconsin U.S. Attorney’s Office

Brad Schimel, the former Wisconsin Attorney General, will continue to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Wisconsin under a new title, the U.S. Justice Department announced.

Schimel had been interim U.S. Attorney, but that appointment expired on March 16. Schimel could have been made the U.S. Attorney by the district’s judges, but they declined to do so, opting not to insert themselves into the process.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Schimel as First Assistant United States Attorney. The move was announced March 18.

The conflict over Schimel’s appointment is one of many nationwide regarding the appointments of top federal prosecutors by President Donald Trump, as the administration bypasses tradition and puts in loyalists. There also have been nominees blocked by Democrats.

Of the 93 U.S. attorney’s offices in the country, 62 are being run by interim or acting prosecutors who have not yet been confirmed by the Senate.

The news of Schimel remaining in charge of the office drew split reactions from the state’s two U.S. senators.

But both senators indicated they would move forward with restarting Wisconsin’s nominating commission, in an effort to send candidates to the White House to fill the now-vacant U.S. Attorney position.

The position of first assistant, which Schimel now holds, is traditionally the number two in the office. But Schimel will lead the office with that title.

“I am grateful for this opportunity to serve the people of the Eastern District of Wisconsin,” Schimel said in a statement. “I will continue to work tirelessly to make the entire district safer and stronger. I look forward to continuing to work with the remarkable team in this office and our amazing justice system partners to accomplish our important mission.”

Previous First Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Frohling, who served as acting U.S. Attorney before Schimel was named, will continue to serve in an executive position, according to a release.

The move by the Justice Department mirrors what has happened in at least two other federal districts, where the office is run by a Trump-appointed lawyer with the title of First Assistant U.S. Attorney.

That move happened in the Western District of Virginia, where Robert Rracci is now the first assistant.

In the Central District of California, the biggest federal district in the nation, Bilal A. Essayli has been running the office as first assistant since October. That happened after a federal judge ruled that Essayli could not legally continue as acting U.S. Attorney, but the judge wrote in an order that Essayli may lead the office as first assistant.

Schimel, 61, was named interim U.S. Attorney in November as the state’s bipartisan nominating committee failed to come to a consensus on any nominees for U.S. Attorney in the eastern or western districts. Schimel applied for both.

U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin have said they’ll work together to reconvene the state’s federal nominating commission, after the federal judges in eastern Wisconsin declined to get into the issue.

Baldwin, a Democrat, has opposed Schimel holding the position from the start and had urged the judges of the Eastern District not to keep Schimel on.

“Once again, Donald Trump is trying to skirt the law and make an end run around the process that Senator Johnson and I have set up,” Baldwin said in a statement responding to the news of Schimel’s new appointment. “Finding common ground and compromise has been the Wisconsin way for decades when it comes to finding high-quality, impartial prosecutors, and that is what Wisconsinites deserve – not this illegal stunt.”

Johnson, a Republican, had encouraged the nominating commission to return to its work while urging Bondi to keep Schimel in charge of the office.

“I’m glad Brad Schimel can continue to lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office as first assistant, giving our commission time to recommend and the Senate time to confirm a full-time U.S. attorney,” Johnson said in a statement.

Schimel ran for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in spring 2025, losing to liberal candidate Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points. President Donald Trump backed Schimel in the race.

In Wisconsin’s western district, the U.S. Justice Department named Chadwick Elgersma acting U.S. Attorney in July 2025. The western district judges voted to make Elgersma the U.S. Attorney earlier this year.