Press Release

Washington, DC – Today, Lambda Legal and 40 other national, state, and local LGBT organizations sent a letter to the United States Senate urging members to oppose the confirmation of Gregory Katsas to the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C.

Washington, DC – Today, Lambda Legal joined the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund in calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold additional hearings on two district court nominees: Brett Talley, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, and Thomas Farr, nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Washington, DC – Today, Lambda Legal continued standing up against Donald Trump’s long line of dangerous nominees to the federal bench, specifically around a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning on the nomination of Don Willett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Washington, DC – At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, the American Bar Association defended its unanimous rating of “Not Qualified” on Leonard Steven Grasz’s nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Prior to the Trump Administration, the ABA only issued two ratings that were unanimously not qualified since 1989, and those two nominees were not confirmed.

Washington, DC – This week, Lambda Legal will be out front in its continued opposition to President Donald Trump’s nominations for lifetime appointments on the federal bench. Lambda Legal’s Director of Strategy, Sharon McGowan, will kick off the week of activities by speaking at a rally outside of the Capitol opposing the nomination of Jeff Mateer, a nominee for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, whose hateful, anti-LGBT and anti-civil rights record notably includes his reference to transgender children as part of "Satan's plan."

Washington, DC – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to move forward with the nomination of Gregory Katsas to the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is often described as the second most powerful court in the country behind the U.S. Supreme Court. Gregory Katsas is currently the Deputy White House Counsel for the Trump Administration – which has routinely attacked the LGBT community, all people living with HIV, and overall civil rights in this country. Lambda Legal today brought together 20 additional national, state, and local LGBT groups urging members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to stop this nomination. The nomination will now go to the full United States Senate for confirmation.

Washington, DC – Senator Mitch McConnell continued his push to deliver to President Trump four highly controversial, anti-civil rights, and anti-LGBT judicial nominees to federal courts of appeals. Casting aside even the appearance of careful deliberation, the Senate today confirmed the remaining two nominees placed on the agenda for this week – Allison H. Eid to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Tenth Circuit and Stephanos Bibas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Washington, DC – The United States Senate this week continues to run roughshod over the judicial nomination process, forcing through confirmations of two controversial anti-LGBT nominees – Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and Joan Larsen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit – and lining up two more – Allison H. Eid to the Tenth Circuit, and, later this week, Stephanos Bibas to the Third Circuit.

Washington, DC – The U.S. Senate moved ahead today with an effort to force through four controversial judicial nominees to lifetime appointments to federal courts of appeals. This afternoon, the Senate confirmed the first of these nominees, Amy Coney Barrett, for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and is now pushing ahead with the nomination of Joan Larsen for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.