In a 53-46 vote strictly along party lines, the US Senate Wednesday approved a controversial Indian American for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Neomi Rao is the first Indian American woman to serve in this role, which used to be held by now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. She will join Justice Sri Srinivasan, who also serves on the DC Circuit Court of Appeals. Rao is currently serves as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget. In this capacity she played a key role in regulatory reform.
Before the vote, Sen. Mazie Hirono, (D-HI), pointed out that Rao had used her position at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to strip away environmental protections. “She supported efforts to replace a clean power plant which would have reduced greenhouse gas emissions with a rule that would increase air pollution and could lead up to 1,400 additional premature deaths,” said Hirono.
During hearings before Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Kamala Harris questioned Rao on her college-day writings in which she blamed the women who were victims of sexual assault. “Unless someone made her drinks undetectably strong or forced them down her throat, a woman, like a man, decides when and how much to drink. And if she drinks to the point where she can no longer choose, well, getting to that point was her choice,” wrote Rao.
“I just voted NO on advancing Neomi Rao’s nomination to the D.C. Circuit,” Harris tweeted. “It’s wrong to suggest that sexual assault survivors are responsible for the trauma they’ve experienced.”
Rao’s judiciary committee grilling went so badly for her that a week later, she wrote a letter to the Judiciary Committee renouncing her earlier writings. “Sexual assault in all forms, including date rape, is abhorrent,” wrote Rao. “Responsibility for the rape is with the rapist. No woman or man should be subjected to sexual violence, regardless of the clothes they wear or how much alcohol they consumed,” she wrote.
Seventy prominent Indian American women wrote a letter to the senate committee condemning Rao’s nomination by Donald Trump.”We are deeply alarmed by Neomi Rao’s record, particularly around gender rights, and we do not believe that she will bring independence and fairness to the federal bench,” read the letter
Indian American activist Deepa Iyer, who is credited with spearheading the effort, told India-West after the Senate vote: “I am deeply disappointed. Through her college writings, her scholarly works, and her tenure at OIRA, Rao has established a pattern of gutting a lot of protections Americans rely on.”
Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference and former head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division in the Obama administration slammed the nomination of Rao.
Gupta said, “What we know of Neomi Rao’s record makes perfectly clear that she is unfit to serve as a fair and impartial judge.” She added, ‘She has demonstrated hostility toward racial and gender equality, sexual assault survivors, LGBTQ rights. and the dire need to address climate change.”
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