“It’s sad that the ABA would contort their ratings process to try to tarnish Steve’s professional reputation in order to drive a political agenda,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, a member of the Judiciary Committee. “In more than a decade as chief deputy attorney general, whether he was litigating cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington or the Nebraska Supreme Court in Lincoln, Republicans and Democrats alike knew that Steve represented Nebraska with integrity and professionalism.”

Sen. Deb Fischer said in a statement that Grasz is “in good standing with the Nebraska State Bar Association” and was selected as a fellow by the Nebraska State Bar Foundation.

“Steve Grasz is highly respected by a bipartisan group of Nebraskans,” Fischer said. “For many years, Steve has earned the very highest peer rating available as a lawyer.”

In its statement, the ABA defended its process as nonpartisan, thorough and fair.

It laid out concerns raised by a number of those interviewed that he would be biased. Some related instances when Grasz was “gratuitously rude” and said they were worried about potential retaliation. Those worries came up in follow-up interviews by a second evaluator.