With Garland Confirmed, Justice Department Must Fight For Civil and Human Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephen Peters, [email protected]

WASHINGTON — Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Judge Merrick Garland as Attorney General of the United States:

“Attorney General Garland must now begin the hard work of repairing the deeply tarnished reputation of the U.S. Department of Justice and its vital role as chief enforcer of our civil rights. In order to do that, he must do everything within his power to fight for racial justice, voting rights, economic justice, LBGTQ equality, disability rights, and other pressing civil and human rights issues. He needs the leadership team, especially Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke, to do this crucially important work. We call on the Senate to quickly confirm both Gupta and Clarke.” 

Henderson previously testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Garland’s nomination. His full testimony is available here. The Leadership Conference released a letter signed by 59 civil rights organizations urging the Senate to consider and confirm Garland as attorney general. 

The Leadership Conferences also released two letters signed by numerous civil rights organizations urging the Senate to quickly confirm Gupta as Associate Attorney General of the United States and Clarke as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 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.

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