Read a PDF of our statement here.
LDF Condemns Senate Judiciary Committee Vote on President Trump’s Judicial and Executive Nominees
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the judicial and executive nominations of individuals the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) has opposed, including Thomas Farr, Mark Norris, David Stras, and Eric Dreiband. These nominees will now be considered by the full Senate. LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill issued the following statement:
“On Monday, Senators on both sides of the aisle celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. and his tireless work to advance the cause of racial justice in the United States. Days later, however, when faced with an opportunity to honor Dr. King’s legacy with more than mere lip service, Republicans in the Senate Judiciary Committee instead voted to advance the nominations of three federal court judges – Thomas Farr, Mark Norris, David Stras – and Eric Dreiband as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. Each nominee has a clear and unequivocal history of hostility to civil rights. They are part of a coterie of anti-civil rights nominees the Trump Administration has nominated for federal appointments. We must conclude that this is a deliberate and shameful plan to degrade our judiciary and destroy the norms that have governed the appointment of federal judicial nominees. The Senate’s Constitutional obligation to advise and consent on nominations is one of our last safeguards, and the Senate must do better than today’s deeply disappointing Judiciary Committee vote. Now the ball falls in the court of the full Senate. We call on the full Senate to stand up for the American people.”
Press:
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.
