In response to reports that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will not allow a package of judicial nominees to be confirmed in the Senate by unanimous consent, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement.

“Today’s announcement is an important step in holding Republicans accountable for their reckless approach to the judicial confirmation process under President Trump. For the last two years, Senators McConnell and Grassley have run roughshod over the rules and norms that are designed to ensure that judges confirmed to lifetime seats on the federal courts meet the highest standards. They’ve ignored their responsibility to adequately vet nominees and routinely pushed forward to confirm blatantly unfit nominees whose only qualification is a transparent willingness to deliver on the GOP’s political agenda. Leader Schumer should be applauded for refusing to go along with this assault on our courts. Americans deserve judges who value equality and justice for all people—we don’t need more narrow-minded elitists on the bench to be a rubber stamp for this president and his extreme agenda.”

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.

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