On CNN, NAACP president and CEO, Derrick Johnson, condemns discrimination against Biden administration nominees
Published
Citation From the March 1, 2021, edition of CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
WOLF BLITZER (HOST): A handful of Biden cabinet nominees are facing intense criticism from Republicans in the Senate. These nominees are all people of color. Some are civil rights leaders. Biden's made some historic strides in terms of cabinet diversity, but are these nominees, from your perspective, being held to a different standard? And we've put five of them up on the screen right now.
DERRICK JOHNSON (PRESIDENT AND CEO OF NAACP,): Absolutely. We have a dual track. There should be no dual track. Judge Garland was voted out of Senate judiciary 15-7, bipartisan. That's the same standard that all of our nominees should be confronted with: An opportunity to show, are they fit to serve? Do they respect and uphold the Constitution? Kristen Clarke, Vanita Gupta are well-qualified. They should be moved through the process in the same manner of which Judge Garland has been moved through the process. There should not be a dual standard.