It’s been a week since Judge James Ho of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit promised to stop hiring Yale Law School grads. But new comments from one of his fellow Fifth Circuit judges have renewed a debate in the clerkship world: does ideology matter for clerkships?

“I regularly (and recently) have had Yale clerks who, consistently, are extremely talented and performed spectacularly in upholding the rule of law and supporting toleration for diverse viewpoints,” said Judge Jerry Smith, a 35-year veteran of the Fifth Circuit, who called Ho’s comments “regrettable.”