Civil Rights Coalition Profoundly Disappointed in Partisan Kavanaugh Vote

The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s largest civil and human rights coalition, is profoundly disappointed that the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Brett Kavanaugh, a political operative with no judicial experience, out of committee this morning on a party line vote.

“There is no room on our nation’s second highest court for unqualified political appointees like Brett Kavanaugh,” said Wade Henderson, executive director of LCCR. “His nomination is an embarrassment. He has no judicial experience, a spotty courtroom record, and an ABA rating that was actually downgraded. Do we really want someone like him sitting on the DC Circuit?”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is particularly important because, unlike other appeals courts, it oversees the action of federal agencies, including unfair labor practice decisions by the National Labor Relations Board, worker safety protections issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, orders of the Federal Communications Commission, and many more.

“Kavanaugh has repeatedly and consistently refused to answer any questions about what little experience he does have – as a career political appointee and right wing lawyer,” said Nancy Zirkin, LCCR’s deputy director.

Kavanaugh worked for the White House Counsel’s Office where he helped devise several controversial policies authorizing the President to ignore U.S. law and violate civil liberties and human rights, including policies that permit the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless wiretaps of American citizens, the use of interrogation techniques amounting to torture, and other policies that deny military detainees the protections of the Geneva Conventions.

“If the Senate takes its constitutional responsibility of advise and consent seriously, Kavanaugh will be voted down on the Senate floor,” added Henderson.