The RNLA will honor Mike Davis, former Chief Nominations Counsel to then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, with the 2019 Betty Murphy Award. Prior to serving Sen. Grassley, Davis worked in private practice in Denver where he chaired RNLA’s Colorado Chapter, clerked for Justice Neil Gorsuch when he was on the Tenth Circuit, helped get Justice Gorsuch confirmed, and again clerked for Justice Gorsuch at the Supreme Court.
Although Davis’ time with Senator Grassley and Senate Judiciary has come to an end, he reflected on his time in an article yesterday profiling him in the National Law Journal and said:
[H]e had no regrets for his unflinching handling of the Kavanaugh nomination. … “I’m not going to apologize for anything,” Davis said. “We did the right thing by getting Justice Kavanaugh confirmed.” … “Senate Democrats and their outside liberal allies really overplayed their hand, and it backfired on them, to mix metaphors.”
During the Justice Kavanaugh hearings, Davis became known for his zealous representation of the Committee, strong Twitter following, and his direct responsive tweets. His support for Kavanaugh, Chairman Grassley, and the hearing process was unwavering; for example, he did not let Michael Avenatti’s attempt at interference affect the process nor the ultimate outcome.
Swetnick, Avenatti Referred for Criminal Investigation: Providing False Statements, Obstructing Congressional Investigations, and Conspiracy All Violate Federal Law https://t.co/wbfSSCfMfe
— Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) October 25, 2018
While working under Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley as his Chief Nominations Counsel, Davis helped made the Kavanaugh process transparent by tweeting detailed information regarding requests, communications, and outreach. Additionally, he would respond to tweets that were clearly false. As he said recently.
People are presumed innocent. And there was no evidence to corroborate any of the allegations, in either of the Senate’s or the FBI’s investigations. So yes, Kavanaugh is innocent. https://t.co/ZhhoIbvTF5
— Mike Davis (@mrddmia) January 20, 2019
He doesn’t need to prove his innocence. He is presumed innocent. He won confirmation to the highest court for the rest of his life. And 4 Senate Democrats who voted against him got booted out of office by their constituents. https://t.co/BiEQnSypLV
— Mike Davis (@mrddmia) January 21, 2019
In the end, Davis’ hard work and dedication paid off. It was made evident in the Senate Judiciary’s 414-page report outlining and summarizing the investigations that occurred during the Kavanaugh hearing.
NEW: Chairman @ChuckGrassley releases 414-page report on the allegations made against Justice Kavanaugh during the confirmation ptocess.
— Senate Judiciary (@senjudiciary) November 4, 2018
Conclusion: no evidence to support the allegations.
https://t.co/xJKAoiWJlW
Looking to the future, Davis says he will he will stay in the judicial fight and that the next two years are essential:
I do not intend to hang up my gloves in the judicial fight, and I will stay involved in the judicial fight from the outside. I’m talking to different law firms. I’m in serious discussion with one particular law firm, and we’ll see. I was on my own for five years before I helped Justice Gorsuch get set up on the Supreme Court, and it was the best five years of my life, professionally. …
The next two years, just about the only thing that’s going to happen in Washington is the confirmation of federal judges. With the Democrats controlling the House, the confirmation of federal judges is really going to be the only thing that counts.
And, in regards to Chairman Graham, he says:
Chairman Graham’s going to do a great job. He’ll continue to push the judges, like Chairman Grassley did
Mike Davis will be presented with the Betty Murphy Award at the 2019 RNLA National Policy Conference on April 5th. The award is given each year to an unsung hero, member, trailblazer, with entrepreneurial spirit, a community service leader, an organization builder who inspires others' efforts. More information on the National Policy Conference and registration information is here.
Thank you, Mike, for all your hard work and dedication in working to confirm conservative judges to the courts.