In response to the Senate Judiciary Committee’s party-line vote to advance the nomination of U.S. District Judge Justin Walker (W.D. Ky.) for a lifetime appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Sharon McGowan, Legal Director and Chief Strategy Officer at Lambda Legal released the following statement:
“The Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have once again demonstrated their utter lack of interest in addressing the important and pressing issues facing this country, including the systemic violence perpetrated by law enforcement against people of color, and have instead continued in their efforts to pack the federal courts with dangerous ideologues and extremists. Today’s vote to advance the nomination of Justin Walker to the D.C. Circuit while we are still in the midst of a devastating health pandemic is particularly offensive, in light of Walker’s virulently anti-healthcare record.
"Walker’s attacks on the Affordable Care Act have jeopardized the health and well-being of millions of people, but equally important, his hyperpartisan approach to the law jeopardizes the rights of every person in this country who believes in, and who relies on, access to fair and impartial courts to secure equal protection under the law. Lambda Legal condemns the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Republican members for prioritizing stacking the courts with ideologues to further their radical agenda.
"We call on the full Senate to turn back this nomination, and return their immediate and undivided attention to the nation’s pressing business of advancing racial justice and public health.”
Walker’s nomination now heads to the full Senate for a vote, which could happen as early as next week. Lambda Legal has sent this letter to the full Senate, urging Senators from both sides of the aisle to oppose Walker’s confirmation to the D.C. Circuit.
