Senators question North Dakota judge pick Axt on experience, 2020 election, Jan. 6

North Dakota’s top appeals attorney faced questions from U.S. senators Tuesday about his experience and views on the 2020 election in his confirmation hearing for a federal judgeship.

State Solicitor General Phil Axt sat with three other nominees before the Senate Judiciary Committee. President Donald Trump announced Axt’s nomination in August for the U.S. district judgeship previously held by Dan Traynor, who was confirmed earlier to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, both R-N.D., introduced Axt. They praised his military experience, West Point and Yale Law School background and legal acumen.

“He’s got the finest academic accolades and accomplishments, but he’s a guy that served our country in battle, won the Bronze Star, and now he’s our state solicitor general. Now that’s pretty fantastic experience for a U.S. district court judge,” Hoeven said.

Trump to nominate top North Dakota appeals litigator to be federal judge

Axt began as solicitor general in 2023 under North Dakota Republican Attorney General Drew Wrigley. Axt has defended various state laws in high-profile cases before the state Supreme Court, including North Dakota’s bans on abortion and gender-affirming medical treatments for kids. As recently as last month, he successfully urged the court to deny a petition seeking to throw out the potential election wins of four legislative candidates.

Axt gave a short statement to the panel in which he recognized his family and thanked several state officials, including Wrigley.

“I would not be here were it not for the trust that he was willing to place in me and in my work product and in my legal judgment and in the responsibilities he’s entrusted me with these last several years,” Axt said of his boss.

Chair Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Axt what has prepared him as solicitor general to preside over cases in North Dakota. 

Axt said he has overseen most of the state’s high-profile court cases over the last few years, appeared in more than 100 cases and argued many of them in state and federal court. 

“One thing I’ve learned through that experience is you can tell when the court has put in the effort and the time to really understand the best version of the arguments that are at issue,” Axt said. That is something he would strive to do, if confirmed, he said.

Ranking Member Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., hammered on the perceived inexperience of Axt and other nominees for a lifetime appointment.

Axt said he was not a lead or co-counsel during trials, and generally tries to avoid trial. Most of his cases involved constitutional issues or interpretation of state laws, he said. He also said he has supervised trial teams, developed legal strategies and witnesses and argued certain motions.

Durbin said to the nominees, “I think it’s unfortunate. You are talented in certain areas, but a lifetime appointment for a federal district trial judge, I just don’t see how you put it together.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said some judicial nominees of Democratic presidents had no experience as a judge at any level or as “a judge at the fair’s pie contest.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked the nominees who won the 2020 election and whether the U.S. Capitol was attacked on Jan. 6, 2021, frequent questions Democrats ask of Trump nominees.

Trump lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump’s supporters rioted and broke into the Capitol on the day Congress met to certify the election results, clashing with law enforcement officers and temporarily halting the proceedings.

Axt said he agreed with a fellow nominee’s answer that Biden “was certified the winner of the 2020 election,” and said “I condemn the acts of violence on that day” in 2021. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee did not take immediate action on the nominations.

Reach North Dakota Monitor reporter Jack Dura at [email protected].