'Supreme Court is not the only battleground': Right-wing lawyer could have chilling effect

A right-wing lawyer has been expected to be a top candidate for a powerful federal appeals court vacancy that could leave a lasting mark on a generation.

President Donald Trump will have to fill the vacancy for Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Duane Benton, who announced he would move to senior status. And Erin Hawley, a senior attorney at the Alliance Defending Freedom, could be the top contender, according to The New Republic, in a report published Wednesday.

Hawley has been considered "the public face of some of the most consequential right-wing legal victories of the last decade."

She is seen as a "near-perfect judicial nominee" for conservatives, who aim to roll back federal protections for reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights and the administrative state.

"With the ultraconservative Supreme Court at her back, Hawley has been one of the most effective culture-war litigators in the country. She argued Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and erased nearly 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion. She stood before the court again in 303 Creative v. Elenis, helping secure a ruling that carved out a broad First Amendment exemption to state civil rights laws protecting LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination," according to The New Republic.

She most recently represented Idaho in Moyle v. United States and argued that hospitals should not be required to provide emergency abortions — even when a woman's life or her health is at risk.

The appointment could have a "profound" impact for people who live in Arkansas, the Dakotas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota and Nebraska.

"Lower court judicial nominations often receive less scrutiny than Supreme Court fights, but they matter just as much—especially in the appellate courts, where the vast majority of federal appellate cases end. A judge can serve for decades, long after the president who appointed them leaves office. With her age, ideological alignment, and experience engineering high-stakes cultural battles, Hawley would likely serve as a conservative anchor on the Eighth Circuit for a generation," The New Republic reported.

"The conservative legal movement sees this as a feature, not a bug. But for the rest of the country, Hawley’s potential elevation offers a stark reminder that the Supreme Court is not the only battleground. The architects of the post-Roe order are looking for new platforms, and they are focused on courts across the country, especially with the Supreme Court already captured by the right," according to the outlet.