PR: Growing Opposition, Both Liberal and Conservative, to the Nomination of Catherine Lhamon

PRESS RELEASE

Rebecca Stewart: 513-479-3335

Growing Opposition, Both Liberal and Conservative, to the Nomination of Catherine Lhamon

WASHINGTON / August 2, 2021 – In May, the White House announced its nomination of Catherine Lhamon to lead the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (1). The announcement triggered a wave of critical editorials. During the ensuing two months, 20 articles, written by liberal and conservative commentators, were published in opposition to the move (2).

During the recent July 13 hearing, Lhamon declined to respond to the criticisms. Indeed, her statements served to confirm the critics’ worst fears. Lhamon repeatedly side-stepped direct questions whether she believes in basic due process protections. She also admitted that she does not endorse the presumption of innocence, only saying that Title IX adjudicators “should be open to the possibility” that the accused student is not guilty (3).

Following the hearing, three media outlets, five non-profit groups, and seven individual commentators — reflecting both liberal and conservative perspectives — came out in opposition to the Lhamon nomination. Their statements are listed below:

Media Outlets

Detroit News: Due Process under Threat on Campus, Thanks to Biden Administration (4)
National Review: Biden’s Troubling Department of Education Nominee (5)
Wall Street Journal: The Senate’s Lhamon Test (6)

Non-Profit Organizations

SAVE: Presumed Guilty: Catherine Lhamon Cannot be Entrusted with the Job of Enforcing Anti-Discrimination Rules in Colleges (7)
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: Catherine Lhamon Still Believes the Title IX Regs Allow Students to ‘Rape with Impunity’ (8)
National Association for Scholars: Lhamon Wobbles on Presumption of Innocence, Undermining Confidence that She Can be Fair (9)
Title IX for All (10)
Families Advocating for Campus Equality: FACE Strongly Opposes Catherine Lhamon’s Return to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (11)

Individuals

Charles C.W. Cooke: Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Lhamon and Biden Undermine Due Process for College Students (12)
Robert Franklin: Congress Must Reject Lhamon Nomination (13)
Thomas Gallatin: Biden’s DOE Nominee Threatens Student Due Process Rights (14)
Buddy Ullman: Falsely Accused Former Professor Says ‘No’ to Lhamon Nomination (15)
Mike LaChance: Biden Ed Dept. Nominee: Trump-Era Protections of Due Process Allow Students to ‘Rape With Impunity’ (16)
Robby Soave: Catherine Lhamon, Once and Future Title IX Czar, Says Campus Rules Don’t Require ‘Presumption of Innocence’ (17)
Ashe Schow: Biden Nominee For Civil Rights Position Rejects Presumption Of Innocence, Defends Tweet Claiming Trump-Era Regs Allow Students To ‘Rape’ With ‘Impunity’ (18)

Combined with the 20 editorials issued prior to the July 13 hearing, the 15 statements listed above bring the total number of opposition statements to 35.

Over 200 judicial decisions have rejected the “Kangaroo Court” procedures that Lhamon embraced during her earlier tenure at the Office for Civil Rights (19). And public opinion polls reveal that campus due process enjoys wide support from the American public, both Democrats and Republicans (20).

SAVE urges senators to oppose the Catherine Lhamon nomination.

Citations:

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