Senate HELP Committee Approves Nomination of Anti-Palestinian Crusader Kenneth Marcus

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee approved the nomination of Kenneth L. Marcus to head the Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education. The committee vote was along party lines, and paves the way for a full Senate vote on Trump’s anti-civil rights, anti-free speech nominee.

Palestine Legal staff attorney Rahul Saksena issued the following statement:

“Kenneth Marcus’ record should disqualify him from leading the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. Marcus has pioneered a legal strategy of abusing civil rights laws to chill the speech activities and violate the civil rights of students who advocate for Palestinian rights. While his nomination may well align with the regressive agenda of the Trump administration, senators have a duty to stand up for students across the country. We are alarmed by today’s committee vote, and we call on the full Senate to reject this dangerous nomination.”

Contact your senator here and urge them to oppose Marcus. 

For more information about Kenneth Marcus’ record and his nomination, see the following:

Letters and Memos Opposing Marcus' Nomination

• Kenneth Marcus’ Anti-Free Speech, Anti-Civil Rights Record, by Palestine Legal
• Statement Against Marcus' Nomination, by Jewish Voice for Peace
• Letter to U.S. Senate HELP Committee members from Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law
• Oppose the Confirmation of Kenneth Marcus for Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Letter of Opposition to Kenneth Marcus Nomination, by the National Women’s Law Center
• Letter to U.S. Senate HELP Committee members from Defending Rights and Dissent
• Oppose Kenneth Marcus’ Nomination for Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education, by the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights
• Trump’s Pick to Oversee Civil Rights in Schools Has a History of Attacking Civil Rights, by the A.C.L.U.
• Letter to U.S. Senate HELP Committee Chairman, by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
• UnidosUS and the National Urban League Oppose Nomination of Kenneth Marcus to Lead U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, by UnidosUS and the National Urban League
   
• Media Coverage
• Civil Rights Nominee Approved by Committee, Inside Higher Ed
• An Advocate for Israel Draws Fire as He Nears Confirmation to Civil Rights Post, New York Times
• Students Beware: This Trump Nominee Doesn’t Believe in your Civil Rights, by Dima Khalidi, The Nation
• Kenneth Marcus’ Ideological Alignment with Trump, by Rahul Saksena, Mondoweiss
• Education nominee is supportive of Betsy DeVos’ rollback of sexual assault guidelines, Think Progress