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Allies of President Trump are attempting a takeover of the D.C. Bar Association as voting ends Wednesday in the election to lead the prestigious organization.

The two-way race for president is between Diane Seltzer and Brad Bondi, the brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi.

It comes at a moment of heightened tension between the White House and the legal profession, which has come under attack by a president unafraid to punish prominent law firms, attack judges and clear house in his own Department of Justice.

The association does not decide attorney discipline matters, but anti-Trump attorneys and pundits are sounding the alarm about what a Make America Great Again takeover would mean for the group, the largest unified bar in the country with roughly 119,000 members.

“Ordinarily, I wouldn't hold the views or conduct of someone's relative against them. Indeed, I'm pretty much the last person who should be doing that,” George Conway said in a video published just before voting began, seemingly referencing his ex-wife, Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s former campaign manager and White House counselor.

“But these are not ordinary times.”

Already, the contentious race has rocketed voter turnout. The D.C. Bar said in a press release Tuesday that nearly 37,000 members, or 41 percent of eligible voters, had cast ballots so far — a significant jump from last year’s 7,563 votes, about 8.5 percent turnout.

Brad Bondi is global co-chair of the investigations and white-collar defense practice at the law firm Paul Hastings. In the past, he’s represented billionaire Elon Musk and Tesla, the Trump Media and Technology Group and a group linked to YouTuber MrBeast in its bid to purchase TikTok.

He’s emphasized improved technology and a desire to see stronger participation in the D.C. Bar as touchpoints of his campaign, vowing in a candidate statement to ensure the group remains nonpartisan.

“The D.C. Bar is not, and must not become, a political organization,” he said. “I will fight vigorously against any attempts externally or internally to change that."

Though the association does not handle attorney discipline, the group has gotten caught up in political crosshairs after the D.C. Bar permanently disbarred former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and began pursuing the same punishment for Jeffrey Clark, both of whom provided legal advice to Trump in his efforts to overturn President Biden’s 2020 election victory.

“The ordeal I’ve had to endure broke many laws and has repeatedly denied me due process. And all I did was take a firm and zealous stand in giving private, privileged advice to the President of the United States,” Clark wrote on X last week.

Seltzer runs an eponymous employment law firm and is endorsed by nearly two-dozen former D.C. Bar Association presidents.

“My priority is making sure that the rule of law is upheld, that we feel that we are safe to do our jobs and that we can go forward every day representing the clients we choose," Seltzer said at a meet-the-candidates event last month, according to NPR.

And it’s not just the presidential race. Alicia Long, a top deputy to interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, is running for treasurer.

The results are expected to be announced on Monday.

Welcome to The Gavel, The Hill’s weekly courts newsletter from Ella Lee (elee@thehill.com) and Zach Schonfeld (zschonfeld@thehill.com). Email us tips, or reach out to us on X (@ByEllaLee, @ZachASchonfeld) or Signal (elee.03, zachschonfeld.48).

Feds crack down hard on attacks against Jews

In the wake of two violent attacks against Jews, the Justice Department has swiftly cracked down on suspects while decrying the incidents as a symptom of rising antisemitism.

Last month, two Israeli Embassy staffers were gunned down outside a Jewish museum in Washington. The suspect in that incident, Elias Rodriguez, was slapped with an array of charges the next day, including murder of foreign officials and causing death through the use of a firearm — both which carry a possible sentence of death or life in prison.

Then, on Sunday, 12 people were injured in Boulder, Colo., when Molotov cocktails were hurled at demonstrators calling for the return of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

Mohamed Soliman, the suspect, was charged with a federal hate crime Monday that carries a sentence up to life in prison. He faces dozens of state charges, as well, and federal law enforcement signaled that additional charges are being weighed.

“We've moved swiftly to charge quickly, just to send a message to the community that no acts of antisemitism are going to be tolerated,” said J. Bishop Grewell, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado. “There are severe consequences.”

Since returning to the White House, the Trump administration has said battling antisemitism is a top priority. The president has

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