June, 14 2018, 12:00am EDT
Senate Committee Advances Two Additional Judicial Extremists, Furthers Trump's Court Packing
WASHINGTON
Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to bring to the Senate floor nominees Allen Winsor for the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Florida and Patrick R. Wyrick for the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Oklahoma:
"The Judiciary Committee's party-line vote to advance the nominations of Allen Winsor and Patrick Wyrick to the Senate floor is just the latest example of Republican complicity in President Trump's efforts to pack the courts and undermine the impartiality of our justice system.
"Mr. Winsor is a young, conservative ideologue with a track record of attempting to restrict voting rights, LGBT equality, reproductive freedom, environmental protection, criminal defendants' rights, and gun safety.
"Mr. Wyrick is another young ideological extremist who is unfit to serve on the federal bench. He is just 37 years old and has worked closely with Scott Pruitt to diminish civil and human rights in Oklahoma, including challenging environmental protections, undermining women's access to health care, and defending a flawed death penalty process, an anti-Muslim referendum, and an anti-workers' compensation law. Today's vote on Mr. Wyrick before his American Bar Association rating has come in - a rating that could be Not Qualified given the length of time it is taking for the rating to be completed - is stunning. This is yet another Senate norm that Chairman Grassley has discarded in his haste to rubber stamp President Trump's extreme nominees.
"The troubling records of both nominees prove that they should not be confirmed, and we urge the Senate to reject their nominations. Neither of these nominees possess the neutrality and fair-mindedness necessary to serve lifetime positions on the federal bench."
The Leadership Conference has sent letters to the Senate in opposition to Allen Winsor and Patrick Wyrick.
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 civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals.
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