In response to yesterday’s nomination of Chad Readler and Eric Murphy for seats on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement:

“Chad Readler and Eric Murphy are perfect examples of the kinds of narrow-minded elitists that Donald Trump is trying to lock into lifetime seats on the federal bench. Chad Readler has made a career of trying to undermine the right to public education in Ohio—he literally tried to write it out of the state constitution. He’s attacked voting rights and played a major role advancing the anti-LGBTQ agenda of Jeff Sessions and Donald Trump’s Department of Justice. He’s worked against regulations that protect ordinary people getting gored by dishonest banks and against a rule that would have protected overtime pay for millions of people.

“Eric Murphy, for his part, has spent years working to undermine voting rights and attack reproductive freedom. He worked to make sure same-sex couples would have no protections under Ohio law.

“Senator Sherrod Brown should be commended for making clear that he’ll oppose these nominees. There’s no universe in which these two individuals should be nominated to the federal bench—or in which they’re good for the people of Ohio.”

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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