This summer I profiled Jonathan T. Skrmetti when he was an applicant for attorney general of Tennessee. He was not a candidate for election; Tennessee is the only state in the Union to have its attorney general selected by the state’s supreme court. Jonathan is a classmate and friend, and while I may be biased in thinking him the best qualified among the several prospects for the job, I am happy that the supreme court agreed and selected him. He began his tenure in September, and the people of Tennessee are fortunate to have him.
I recently sat down with Jonathan to discuss his new job and, of course, the Constitution. He had previously served as the chief deputy attorney general, the number two position in the office, for three years, but he now faces substantial new responsibilities. His conception of the office reflects his constitutionalism, which includes at its core respect for the separation of powers at both the federal and state levels, “understanding that the concentration of power is the great evil to be avoided.”
Among the nation’s far-reaching challenges to the rule of law: The difficulty of securing laws through the legislative process, Jonathan notes, has led to “short cuts.” Earlier these took the form of judicial activism. Now the bigger threat is the administrative state, where regulators are “purportedly interpreting the laws, but what they’re really trying to do is rewrite them. And so the state AG’s are in a strong position to call out that behavior, to enjoin the bad conduct, to get the courts to step in and remind the executive branch of our constitutional system.”
Jonathan is among a number of Republican state attorneys general who have collaborated, often filing joint briefs, on a number of issues involving federal overreach. His own office has taken the lead in several areas, perhaps most notably Title IX. Jonathan is also confronting the increasing threats to free speech, the problem of large corporations “colluding against the interests of consumers” under the guise of ESG investing policies, and the challenges to effective criminal prosecution in today’s difficult environment that his office faces on appeal.
Watch the full interview here:
And capable attorneys interested in serving should take note: Tennessee’s new attorney general is hiring.