Senate Republicans are poised to decrease the amount of time legislators can debate district court and certain executive nominees from 30 hours to just two hours. Lisa Cylar Barrett, Policy Director at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., issued the following statement:
“Senate Republicans have already razed Senate norms in order to fill the federal judiciary with nominees who lack trial experience, are openly hostile to racial justice and civil rights, and have demonstrated a total lack of regard for fundamental legal precedent. Now they’re ready to completely obliterate one of the final checks left on the confirmation process. If Republicans vote yes, the Senate will have effectively abandoned its constitutional obligation to ‘advise and consent’ on judicial nominees. These are lifetime appointments and as such warrant sufficient time to review and debate their qualifications. The nominations of Ryan Bounds, Brett Talley, and Thomas Farr – three of the egregious picks for the judiciary who have been stopped – were defeated because of concerns that were revealed during this crucial final debate period. Shortening the amount of time the Senate has to consider nominees will allow countless nominees to be confirmed without adequate vetting.
“This shortsighted move is sure to wreak havoc on civil rights, the rule of law, and the integrity of our courts for generations. Senate Republicans must stand up for the ability of the Senate to meet its constitutional responsibility to ‘advise and consent,’ and not move forward with this gross abuse of power.”
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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.
