TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Apr 7, 2026

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti on Monday sent a letter to Acting U.S. AG Todd Blanche, asking the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider its proposed rule that any ethics complaints made against DOJ attorneys would be reviewed by the department before a state, territory or District of Columbia disciplinary investigation could occur. The letter reads, in part, "While the Proposed Rule responds to a real problem, it unconstitutionally infringes on the prerogatives of the state judiciary contrary to the Tenth Amendment and black-letter federal law," and that the proposal "risks eroding key structural components of our constitutional order by intruding on the States' authority to regulate the legal profession and Congress's choice to reinforce that traditional role for the States with respect to attorneys for the federal government." Read the letter here. In related news, the American Bar Association and a group of 20 attorneys general also filed comments opposing the rule. Reuters reports on the state group.