Raleigh – North Carolina Democratic Party spokesman Robert Howard released the following statement after Senator Thom Tillis voted to confirm Steven Menashi to the federal bench despite Menashi’s long record opposing and undermining civil rights protections equality for people of color:

“Steven Menashi denounced women’s rights and diversity, worked to roll back critical civil rights protections, tried to violate privacy laws to deny students debt relief, and has never had a single trial during his legal career – yet he still earned Senator Tillis’ vote for a lifetime appointment as a federal judge. Senator Tillis continues to show he’s a rubberstamp for Mitch McConnell and the special interests in Washington, not the independent voice North Carolina deserves.”

Read more on who Tillis just voted to confirm to a federal lifetime appointment:

• New York Times: “Steven Menashi, who faces a key vote Thursday, helped devise an Education Department plan to use Social Security data to deny students debt relief, an effort that a judge ruled violated privacy laws.”

• CNN: Controversial Trump judicial pick once linked abortion to infanticide and decried college distribution of morning-after pills

• HuffPost: “He’s denounced women’s rights and diversity. He refused to answer senators’ questions. Republicans voted to move him forward anyway.”

• HuffPost: Top Racial Justice Group Opposes Trump Court Pick Steven Menashi

• Politico: “Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in particular chided Steven Menashi for not being more forthcoming during his confirmation hearing after the nominee wouldn’t provide specifics on how or if he helped shape Trump’s immigration policy.”

• CNN: Trump court pick denounced feminists, gay-rights groups and diversity efforts in 1990s, 2000s editorials

• Slate: “Menashi, 40, is one of Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees because of his past inflammatory writings, his work with Stephen Miller and Betsy DeVos, and his refusal to answer the committee’s questions about that work.”

• Newsweek: Donald Trump’s latest judge nominee Steven Menashi boasted about violating privacy laws as Betsy Devos’ legal counsel: report