LETTER: Oppose Justin Smith for Eighth Circuit

Today, the League of Conservation Voters sent the below letter to the United States Senate urging them to oppose the nomination of Justin Smith to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. LCV will strongly consider scoring votes related to this nomination in the 2026 National Environmental Scorecard.

May 13, 2026

United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Re: Oppose Justin Smith for Eighth Circuit

Dear Senator,

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) believes that the climate, our democracy, and environmental justice require highly qualified, ethical public officials committed to protecting the people’s freedoms, respecting the rule of law, and ensuring equal justice for all. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, detailing the voting records of members of Congress.

We urge you to vote NO on the nomination of Justin Smith to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Smith’s record of fighting against environmental protection and democracy make his nomination a threat to the people’s rights to breathe clean air, to drink clean water, to participate in free and fair elections, and to equal justice under law.

Smith has worked to advance the interests of polluters at the expense of our communities’ health on numerous occasions. He represented the State of Missouri in resisting protections against chlorpyrifos, which can cause health problems including Parkinson’s and cancer. He defended weakening the Missouri Clean Water Commission. And he led a multistate lawsuit challenging the inclusion of climate pollution’s social costs in the cost-benefit analysis that goes into federal regulations.

In addition to his anti-environmental actions, Smith has a deeply concerning record on free and fair elections. He worked to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, and during his recent confirmation hearing, he refused to acknowledge not only the outcome of that election, but even that President Biden won the popular vote, which he did by a margin of over seven million votes. And in announcing Smith’s nomination, President Trump wrote that Smith “played a BIG role in securing” the shameful Supreme Court ruling that provided Trump immunity for his own role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election, including his role in the January 6th insurrection.

For all these reasons, LCV strongly urges you to vote NO on the nomination of Justin Smith to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. We will strongly consider including votes on this nomination in our next Scorecard. If you would like more information, please reach out to a member of our government relations team.

Sincerely,

Pete Maysmith

President