WASHINGTON – The Article III Project (A3P) today released an analysis of the voting records during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Donald Trump of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Senate Judiciary Committee Senior Member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). The analysis concludes that Schumer, Durbin and Whitehouse–all white men–consistently vote against women and minority judicial nominees when they are not nominated by a president of their own political party.
According to the analysis of women and minority judicial nominees made during the last two Republican presidential administrations, Schumer voted against 52 of the nominees, Durbin voted against 35, and Whitehouse—who is a member of an all-white beach club–voted against 28.
During the Trump presidency alone, Senators Schumer, Durbin and Whitehouse voted against 95%, 81%, and 71% of women and minority appellate court nominees, respectively. Serving on a circuit court is often a stepping stone to being considered to serve on the Supreme Court.
“Democrats talk a big game on diversity in the courts and about how representation matters, but their records don’t match their rhetoric,” said Mike Davis, Founder and President of A3P. “These Democrats are quick to weaponize race and gender to achieve their progressive political goals, but diversity in the workplace, racial progress, and gender equality clearly aren’t their real priorities. As Democrats prepare to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, remember how they treated Clarence Thomas, Janice Rogers Brown, Miguel Estrada, and Amy Coney Barrett during their confirmation processes. That is all you need to know about Democrats’ true feelings on the importance of racial and gender diversity on the bench.”
Find the full analysis HERE.
The Article III Project (A3P) was founded by veteran GOP operative and attorney Mike Davis, who, after helping win the Senate confirmation battles of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, developed the reputation as a “take-no-prisoners conservative eager to challenge the left with hardball tactics,” as reported in The New York Times. A3P defends constitutionalist judges, punches back on radical assaults on judicial independence (like court-packing) and opposes judicial and other nominees who are outside of the mainstream.
Davis previously served as Chief Counsel for Nominations to Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and led the Senate confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and a record number of circuit court judges.
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