In response to the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of Michael Brennan, President Trump’s nominee to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement:

“Today’s vote undermines more than a century of Senate tradition and shows just how far Chuck Grassley is willing to go to cripple the system of checks and balances designed to protect our federal courts and our liberty. His decision to move forward on the Brennan nomination over the objection of a home state senator sends a clear signal that the Trump administration can run roughshod over individual senators when it comes to judicial nominations. Donald Trump and Don McGahn have repeatedly nominated unqualified political cronies and narrow-minded elitists to critical seats on the federal bench—now isn’t the time to minimize the Senate’s constitutional role of advice and consent on judges who will serve for life.

“As democratic senators on the committee emphasized during today’s vote, all senators who care about the institutional integrity of the Senate and our system of government should be appalled at what Chuck Grassley is doing to the Senate Judiciary Committee. And Americans of all stripes should be very concerned about what this means for our rights and liberties.”

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.

###