Civil and Human Rights Coalition Calls for End to the Nominations Blockade

Washington, DC – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the statement below after the Senate vote to filibuster the nomination of Judge Robert Wilkins to the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit). The filibuster comes after recent filibusters of three other highly qualified nominees to high-profile offices, Patricia Millett and Cornelia Pillard for the D.C. Circuit and Congressman Mel Watt to head the Federal Finance Housing Agency (FHFA). Tomorrow at 11:30 AM, The Leadership Conference will participate in a press call with other civil rights groups to respond to the votes on these nominees:

“The Senate nominations blockade must end now. Instead of considering the exemplary and valuable qualifications that nominees like Wilkins, Watt, Pillard, and Millett bring to public service, senators are abdicating their duty to govern.

The extremists in Congress have created a slow motion government shutdown in the judiciary and the executive branch. It’s time to honor the qualifications that nominees like these bring to the table and allow for yes-or-no confirmation votes on all four. 

We’re asking the Senate to step away from the political fringe and end the nominations blockade.” 

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 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.