Civil and Human Rights Coalition Rebukes Confirmation of Gregory Katsas

WASHINGTON - November 28, 2017 – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Gregory Katsas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit:

"The Republican-led Senate has rubber stamped yet another extreme Trump judicial nominee. As one of Trump's top White House lawyers, Gregory Katsas has worked to restrict voting rights, LGBTQ rights, and access to women's health, and he has sought to expand executive power at the expense of civil liberties. His record demonstrates that he will not serve as a fair and independent judge.

The one glimmer of hope is that, for the first time, a Republican senator actually exercised independence by voting against the confirmation of one of Trump's judicial nominees. Senator John Kennedy serves on the Judiciary Committee and has repeatedly raised important concerns about the troubling records of several of this president's nominees. It will be interesting to see if other Republican senators take their role in the confirmation process as seriously as the senator from Louisiana."

Earlier this month, The Leadership Conference sent a letter to the Senate in opposition to Katsas. That letter is available here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.