Political Quotes

“I oppose the confirmation of Kenneth Marcus to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education. Mr. Marcus has a long record of targeting First Amendment- protected speech and scholarship of people with whom he disagrees. His history also reflects a hostility towards civil rights, including making racially charged accusations and opposing affirmative action. In addition, Mr. Marcus has not publicly committed to upholding the civil rights protections of every student in the country, without regard to LGBTQI status, race, home language, gender, religion, disability, or immigration status. I am particularly concerned with Mr. Marcus's nomination, given the important role that the Office of Civil Rights--OCR--plays in protecting students from discrimination in schools and on campuses, as well as holding schools accountable for their sexual assault prevention policies. As we are all aware, Secretary DeVos and Acting OCR Director Candice Jackson have already taken very concerning steps to roll back guidance and investigations of potential civil rights violations. Given his testimony before the Senate HELP committee, I fear Mr. Marcus will likely contribute to this troubling pattern of neglect at the Department.…”