Civil and Human Rights Coalition Statement on President Trump’s Address to Congress

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement following President Trump’s address to Congress:

“When he was elected, Donald Trump promised to be a president for all Americans, yet he continues to pursue policies that put the powerful above the people, and to attack the most vulnerable in our society. Tonight’s address, sadly, continues that trend.

He touted his Task Force on Reducing Violent Crime, but his Justice Department has already pursued policies that fail to create a better criminal justice system.  The recent decision to continue to rely on private prisons for federal inmates is neither humane nor budget-wise. We need a justice system that can work better for all people.

His continued push for Neil Gorsuch to serve on the highest court in the land obscures the judge’s troubling record and Trump’s own denigration of judges who disagree with him. Gorsuch has consistently shown that he puts powerful corporate interests above the rights of workers and ordinary people. The Constitution demands an independent judiciary, and the American people deserve a Supreme Court justice who will be independent and not serve as a rubber stamp for the President who appointed him. 

We urge caution on Trump’s call for immigration reform but look forward to working with lawmakers to ensure that proposed changes uphold our legacy as a nation of immigrants. The continuing attacks on immigrants and refugees that we see from our chief executive undermines this laudable goal.

His call to Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act will not help protect the health and well-being of Americans, particularly the poor and underserved. Republican lawmakers know their constituents are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act, and yet they want to take this vital program away.

Given the philosophy of our Secretary of Education, it was not surprising that Trump called for Congress to divert public funding for schools in private school voucher programs. Such efforts are likely to undermine federal civil rights protections and open the door to taxpayer-funded discrimination. And just a week after his administration rescinded Title IX guidance to protect transgender students, Trump called education ‘the civil rights issue of our time.’ That’s not what standing up for civil rights looks like.

As we continue to address the challenges facing all Americans, we must do so in a manner that does the most good, consistent with our Constitution and the rule of law.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 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.