WASHINGTON, DC — Yesterday, Judge Mark Pittman admonished the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for failing to trust “other judges to follow their oaths,” echoing concerns that the pro-industry group selectively “shops” for conservative judges sympathetic to their cases. Earlier this year, analysis from government watchdog Accountable.US revealed that since 2017, roughly 63% of the Chamber of Commerce’s lawsuits challenging federal regulations were filed within district courts under the Fifth Circuit’s jurisdiction.
Judge Pittman is currently overseeing the Chamber’s lawsuit to block the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) credit card late fee rule. Since the beginning of the case, he has tried twice to transfer litigation to DC, and has chastised the U.S. Chamber for treating legal venues as a “continental breakfast,” where they “pick and choose on a Plaintiffs’ whim where and how a lawsuit is filed.” His motions to transfer were blocked by the conservative Fifth Circuit of Appeals when the court brought the case back to Texas.