Trump-appointed federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk has become the go-to judge for right-wing groups seeking rulings that advance their political agenda.
Kacsmaryk worked at religious-right First Liberty Institute before his judicial nomination; now Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has gone to that same well, appointing First Liberty Institute senior counsel Jordan Pratt to the state’s Fifth District Court of Appeal.
First Liberty Institute is hostile to reproductive choice and legal equality for LGBTQ Americans. For years, it has sounded false alarms about supposed anti-Christian persecution in the United States.
After Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election, First Liberty Institute’s president signed a letter urging GOP senators to contest Electoral College votes from swing states won by President Joe Biden.