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Tweeting Texan Justice Willett Barely Confirmed

By George Khoury, Esq. on December 14, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Justice Don Willett, the Texas Tweeter Laureate, may be a favorite of appellate lawyer Twitter (which, yes, appellate Twitter is a thing), but if the numbers are any indication, his popularity among Senators fell along strict party lines. The 50 to 47 vote went his way, but just barely.

Both Justice Willett, and James Ho, were nominated to seats on the Fifth Circuit, and this week, both had their nominations confirmed. Interestingly, Ho seemed to garner more partisan support than the social media savvy Willett. The Senate voted Ho in 53 to 43.

The Twiddle Twitter Tussle

While the Twittersphere may be begging for Willett to return to the platform post-confirmation, it's likely that he will not be nearly as engaged, nor as critical of President Trump, if he returns at all.

Willett faced some rather fierce scrutiny during his confirmation hearing over some of his "joke" tweets that were not so well received. And though he seemed to suspend his tweeting after receiving the nomination in September and the warning from the White House, there were two tweets in the lead up to Thanksgiving, and then silence again.

Willett's confirmation has set off a firestorm of congratulatory comments on Twitter, and the jurist is yet to respond. It is likely he will post something in the coming days, but don't expect to be ROFL-ing or even LOL-ing. If his most recent tweets are a preview of tweets to come, he may find his Twitter popularity getting littler and twiddler.

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