Washington, DC — The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) is pleased to announce Mike Davis as the recipient of the 2019 Betty Murphy Award, which will be presented at the National Policy Conference on April 5 in Washington, D.C. Davis was selected for the Betty Murphy Award because he is an unsung hero, member, trailblazer, with entrepreneurial spirit, a community service leader, and an organization builder who inspires others’ efforts.
Davis served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary during the 115th Congress. Davis led a team of attorneys that advised the Chairman and other senators on the presidential nomination and Senate confirmation of federal judges, senior Justice Department officials, and other senior Executive Branch appointees. During his Senate service, Davis helped oversee a record number of judicial confirmations for a President’s first two years and most importantly the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. On Kavanaugh, Davis was determined not to let the Democrats’ character assassination tactics succeed, as Kavanaugh “had unquestionably high character, as evidenced by the fact that he went through six full field background investigations over a 25-year period. We were not going to let this good man get destroyed during this process based upon allegations that ended up not to pan out.” As Davis pointed out, Judiciary Committee staff “called everyone. We tracked down every lead.”
Before his work to confirm Justice Kavanaugh, Davis left his law firm in Colorado to help confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, for whom he had previously clerked and later clerked for again on the Supreme Court. Davis also worked as a White House political advisor in the administration of President George W. Bush and led the RNLA’s Colorado Chapter. Davis has served in all three branches of the federal government, including for President George W. Bush, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
RNLA Executive Director Michael Thielen stated: "Mike represents the finest in Republican lawyers having served the country admirably in all three branches of government. Mike has always kept his eye on the ball in even the most difficult environments and the country is better for it. We are proud to count him as a former RNLA leader and look forward to seeing what he does next."
In accepting the Betty Murphy Award, Davis states: "It is an honor to receive the Betty Murphy Award from the Republican National Lawyers Association. The RNLA does critical work in ensuring that we hold fair elections across the country and that we credential the next generation of our nation’s leaders in the law. I was proud to lead the Colorado chapter from 2008 to 2012. I utilized many of the lessons that I learned from the RNLA in my service under the leadership of then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley last Congress. Largely because of Chairman Grassley’s hard work and steady leadership, the Senate confirmed Justice Gorsuch, Justice Kavanaugh, a record 30 circuit judges, and 53 district judges. And Chairman Grassley held hearings for another 50 judicial nominees, including 6 of the 7 circuit judges who the Senate has confirmed this year. Chairman Grassley did 95% of the work in helping President Trump shatter all-time records and confirm his stellar judicial nominees. I am very proud of my service with Chuck Grassley, my home-state senator from Iowa and one of the most decent and honorable people I have ever met. He is the real unsung hero."
Past winners of the Betty Murphy Award include Ashley Carter, Linda Kerns, Kathryn Ciano, Heather Heidelbaugh, Tom Spencer, Brigida Benitez, and Nancy Nord.
The RNLA is the national organization of Republican attorneys. The mission of the RNLA is to advance professionalism; open, fair and honest elections; career opportunity; and Republican ideals. For more information, please visit: http://www.rnla.org.
# # #
For a PDF version of this press release, please click here.