Contact: Malik Russell/ [email protected]
BALTIMORE (February 4, 2019) – Today, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson announced the NAACP’s opposition to the nomination of Neomi Rao to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The hearing on Ms. Rao’s nomination is scheduled for Tuesday, February 5, before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The NAACP urges the Senate to reject Rao’s nomination.
“The Rao nomination is an insult to communities of color, women, persons with disabilities, and the LGBTQ community. In truth, the nomination is an insult to all Americans. This is the second most powerful court in the land. It has special duties in reviewing public protections involving the safety and rights of all communities. Replacing Brett Kavanaugh on this court with Naomi Rao is going from bad to worse.
Neomi Rao is the last person who should sit on this court. Trump already installed Rao as his chief regulation destroyer where she has caused untold damage to federal protections ensuring equality and non-discrimination. Now, Trump wants to place her in a lifetime position on the very court that could bring lasting harm to those protections.
Additionally, Rao has amassed an extraordinarily hostile record over the years of vile comments against our most vulnerable communities. Her repeated attacks on affirmative action are extremely alarming given the D.C. Circuit’s outsized docket on this issue. Her record is simply disqualifying. For more on Rao’s record, see NAACP on Neomi Rao.
We call on the Senate to reject Neomi Rao’s nomination. She is unfit to serve as a judge anywhere and certainly on the D.C. Circuit. We have a right to expect our federal judges will be fair, impartial and committed to the progress our nation has made in civil rights. That is not Neomi Rao. The NAACP will fight to protect our courts by ensuring her nomination is defeated.”
Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO
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