In response to the Senate’s vote this evening to invoke cloture on the nomination of David Stras to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement:

“Today’s vote is the latest evidence that Donald Trump and his allies in the Senate are doing everything in their power to radically shift our federal courts to the right. Throughout his career, David Stras has demonstrated again and again that he shares the extreme ideology of his mentor, Clarence Thomas. He’s made it harder for workers to stand up for themselves when they face discrimination on the job and easier for politicians to erode the right to vote. And while women everywhere are taking a stand against sexual harassment and abuse, David Stras would make it harder for victims of rape to get justice in a court of law.

“David Stras is another narrow-minded elitist whose decisions on the state bench have done real harm to real people. Americans deserve better.”

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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