PFAW Statement

Because of the strong opposition to Miguel Estrada’s confirmation, we are not surprised that Estrada has reportedly decided to withdraw his name from consideration for the federal appeals court in D.C.

Estrada’s withdrawal highlights the importance of continued Senate scrutiny of President Bush’s judicial nominations.

Estrada had been blocked by a courageous Democratic filibuster based on his troubling right-wing record and his refusal, and the refusal of the Bush administration, to answer many legitimate questions about his record and judicial philosophy.

We continue to urge the Bush administration to engage in bipartisan consultation, cooperation, and compromise in naming judges to these important courts. Unfortunately, the administration’s most recent nominees to the very same DC appeals court – Brett Kavanaugh and Janice Rogers Brown – reflect a rejection of that path. The administration continues to pursue a strategy of confrontation and resist any meaningful bipartisan dialogue on judges.

Estrada’s withdrawal will shift the focus to these and other Bush nominees who have extremely troubling records of ideological extremism and right-wing judicial activism. These nominees reflect the Bush administration’s intention to pack the federal appeals courts with judges who would turn back the clock on civil rights, privacy and reproductive rights, environmental protection, religious liberty, and much more.