WASHINGTON—In response to today’s Senate Judiciary Committee vote, which advanced three controversial Trump nominees—Eric Dreiband as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Amy Coney Barrett and Joan Larsen for lifetime seats on federal appeals courts—to a full Senate floor vote, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker released the following statement:

“After Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley chose to jam all three of these controversial nominees into one hearing last month, it comes as no surprise that Republicans also voted to send these nominees to a full Senate vote in order to advance their irresponsible and dangerous agenda.

“Eric Dreiband has spent his career defending corporations accused of employment discrimination and his record shows a dangerous opposition or indifference to positions that are at the heart of the Civil Rights Division’s mission. The Trump administration along with Attorney General Jeff Sessions have already demonstrated open hostility to upholding civil rights protections.  Dreiband is the latest in a long line of Trump nominees who are blatantly unqualified to protect the core values of the entities they are nominated to lead.

“Meanwhile, Amy Coney Barrett would endanger reproductive rights. And Joan Larsen—who is on Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees—envisions the president as having dangerously expansive powers. The American people need a leader in the Justice Department who will fight for civil rights and judges who will fairly uphold the law for all people. Dreiband, Barrett and Larsen are all unfit to serve and we urge the Senate to vote against these nominations.”

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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