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North Dakota federal Judge Dan Traynor was questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday during his confirmation hearing for the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Traynor was initially nominated by Trump. Notably, he was asked about a controversial 2024 letter he co-signed, boycotting the hiring of Columbia University law clerks. The letter denounced student protests and demonstrations that were occurring at Columbia in April of 2024. Students called for the university’s disinvestment from Israel and protested its perceived complicity in the ongoing Gaza genocide, in which 72,769 Palestinians have lost their lives since October 2023, according to the U.N. The letter described all university participants as “antisemitic,” though separate, antisemitic agitators, seemingly unafilliated with the university, used the protests as an excuse to spread hate. Overall, the student organizers denounced antisemitism and racism of any kind.
Traynor defended the letter and hiring decisions as his First Amendment right. He declined to answer senators’ questions regarding the 2020 election or the events of January 6th. He said judges should not engage in political controversy.
Read the full reporting by Mary Steurer and the North Dakota Monitor here.
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