U.S. Senate Abandons LGBT Community to Confirm Eric Murphy

(Washington, DC, March 7, 2019) – Today, Sasha Buchert, Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal, issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate confirmed Eric Murphy, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit:

“Today’s vote to confirm Eric Murphy was yet another example of how little concern Senate Republicans have for the safety and security of the LGBT community, and their broader disdain for civil rights. The fact that even Senator Portman (R-OH), who came out publicly in support of marriage equality, could not bring himself to vote against this nominee demonstrates the extent to which Senate Republicans have completely abdicated their duty to provide meaningful advice and consent. Our federal courts will be the worse off for generations to come.”

Earlier this year, Lambda Legal released a report detailing Trump’s judicial assault on LGBT rights. The analysis outlines the ways in which Senate Republicans have eviscerated nearly all Senate rules and traditions that protect the nomination process, leading to an alarming rate of confirmations for Trump-appointed judges. Trump has confirmed more circuit court judges than any other president by this point in his first term, and his administration shows no signs of slowing down.