Senator Reid
Following yesterday’s failed Senate cloture vote to proceed to the nomination of Debo P. Adegbile as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is calling on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to call a vote on the nomination again.
“The Lawyers’ Committee strongly urges Senate Majority Leader Reid to call for a vote on Mr. Adegbile’s nomination once again,” the organization said, in a statement.
The failed vote was “deeply disappointing not only for the civil rights community but for every American,” said Lawyers’ Committee President and Executive Director Barbara Arnwine. She added: “We have had the privilege of working with Debo over the years and have come to respect him as a leader of profound intelligence and integrity. Today’s vote reflects a larger and extremely troubling attack on civil rights taking place on the Senate floor and Capitol Hill. The day that a nominee of this caliber is blocked for supporting voting rights, diversity programs in higher education, and the equal protection of all citizens in the criminal justice system, signals a moment in our history that we as Americans must take a hard look at the direction we as a democracy are headed.”
The Lawyers’ Committee Public Policy Director, Tanya Clay House, said: “The politicization and misrepresentation of a nominee of such integrity, commitment and promise should signal us all to take pause and evaluate the cautionary tale unfolding before us. She said the vote “was reprehensible but not irreversible and I remain hopeful that once the Senate has taken the opportunity to understand the magnitude of their actions today they will vote to confirm this civil rights leader.”
The Lawyers’ Committee cited Adegbile’s “legal expertise, leadership skills, and dedication to upholding the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans” as “an invaluable asset to the Civil Rights Division.”
