The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin has decided not to continue the tenure of interim U.S. Attorney Brad Schimel, appointed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, as the leading federal prosecutor in Milwaukee. This decision marks yet another instance where a Trump administration appointee faces the potential end of their role as a U.S. attorney.

Schimel, who holds the position of interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, will conclude his duties by March 17, following the court’s decision. The judges opted not to use their “permissive authority” to extend his temporary appointment beyond this date.

Schimel was selected by Bondi as the interim U.S. attorney for Milwaukee on November 17, 2025, just months after his unsuccessful bid for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. As outlined in the district court’s press release, his appointment is set to end on March 17.

The court emphasized that its decision does not reflect negatively on Schimel’s performance or qualifications, or those of the attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The office has continued to serve the district’s citizens effectively,” the judges noted. They also expressed anticipation for the President and U.S. Senate to nominate and confirm a permanent U.S. Attorney.

Earlier this month, Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, advocated for the creation of a bipartisan judicial nominating commission to select the next U.S. attorney for the state. She argued this step is essential because, while interim appointments are legally capped at 120 days, she claims the Trump administration has attempted to “circumvent this law to maintain interim U.S. Attorneys who are strong supporters of the President in their roles for extended periods.”

Earlier this month, Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin openly called for a bipartisan judicial nominating commission to appoint the state’s next U.S. attorney. She said that such an action is necessary because, despite interim appointments being limited to only 120 days, the Trump administration has allegedly tried to “skirt this law to keep other interim U.S. Attorneys, who are ardent supporters of the President, in place longer.”

“I never thought a clearly partisan actor like Brad Schimel should be a top federal prosecutor in our state to begin with, and he certainly shouldn’t get an extension for this job,” she wrote on March 4.

The Trump administration has faced intense criticism from federal judges for appointing certain interim or acting U.S. attorneys. Several — John Sarcone in New York, Lindsey Halligan in Virginia, and Alina Habba in New Jersey — were declared to be unlawfully serving.

Despite Sarcone being deemed an illegitimate acting top prosecutor for the Northern District of New York, he clung to his claimed title even after a judge quashed his grand jury subpoenas of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office and found that Sarcone “used authority he did not lawfully possess to direct the issuance of the subpoenas[.]”

Halligan similarly continued to identify herself as a “United States Attorney & Special Attorney” despite a district judge ruling last November that she was a “private citizen” who was never validly appointed to serve as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Habba was likewise found to have been unlawfully appointed as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey. A federal judge excoriated Bondi for attempting to keep her in place and then appointing a “triumvirate” of prosecutors to take Habba’s place — warning that Bondi’s maneuvering put “thousands” of cases at stake.