The United States Senate today confirmed the nomination of Thomas Perez to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Perez was nominated by President Obama to fill the position on March 31, 2009. People For the American Way President Michael B. Keegan issued the following statement.

“Everyone who cares about civil rights should be glad that Tom Perez has finally been confirmed. After the rank politicization of the Civil Rights Division under the Bush Administration, it’s ridiculous that it took so many months to confirm a candidate as obviously qualified as Mr. Perez. I’m confident that in his new role, Tom Perez will work to repair the reputation of the Civil Rights Division and the DOJ as impartial advocates for the rule of law and the rights of all Americans.

“Unfortunately, this nomination is far from the last to be delayed by needless obstruction from Senate Republicans. Nominees to important offices, like Dawn Johnsen who has been nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel, have been languishing for months. It’s time for members of the Senate to stop playing politics with the rule of law and move forward on confirming President Obama’s qualified nominees for the Department of Justice and our federal courts.”

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