President Trump announced the nomination of Joshua Divine to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and Western District of Missouri. As solicitor general in the Missouri Attorney General’s office, Divine has shown his blind loyalty to Trump despite the President’s unconstitutional actions. Divine has been an active participant in judge-shopping right-wing extremist cases in order to further restrict reproductive rights.
A Pattern of Defending President Trump’s Unconstitutional Power Grab
In his position as solicitor general of the Missouri Attorney General’s office, Divine has shown unquestioning allegiance to President Trump:
Divine asked the Supreme Court to lift a gag order and delay Donald Trump’s sentencing for felony convictions in his hush money criminal case.
He promoted the unitary executive theory, a fringe legal theory that would further expand Trump’s presidential powers at the expense of Congress and the courts.
He criticized the Supreme Court for enjoining Trump’s unconstitutional immigration policies.
An Anti-Abortion Zealot
Divine has gone well beyond just defending Missouri’s anti-abortion laws. He even tried to restrict reproductive rights nationwide:
Divine is an attorney on Missouri’s effort to revive the case challenging the FDA’s approval of mifepristone and requesting additional restrictions on the abortion drug. The Trump administration recently called for the lawsuit to be thrown out due to Missouri’s lack of standing in the clearly judge-shopped case, which was filed in Amarillo, Texas.
Divine has defended Missouri’s burdensome restrictions on abortion access, including a 72-hour waiting period and mandatory ultrasounds and pelvic exams, despite doctors calling the restrictions unnecessary and burdensome.
Divine defended the state’s move to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funds, jeopardizing the clinic’s ability to provide reproductive health care in the state.
Leading Missouri’s Right-wing Extremism
Divine has championed causes of the conservative movement in Missouri:
Divine touted his role as lead counsel in successfully defending Missouri’s law banning gender-affirming care for minors. He also represented Missouri in a case challenging a local ban on conversion therapy.
