Biden Nominees Torpedo Own Confirmation To Kill Report On Whether Lax Crime Policies Hurt Minorities

Democrats Block Study on Crime and Minorities at Federal Civil Rights Commission Meeting

A recent meeting of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights turned chaotic as Democrats went to great lengths to block a study on whether crime disproportionately impacts minorities. The study would have examined whether soft-on-crime policies create a civil rights issue by subjecting poor blacks to high crime rates. The commission consists of eight commissioners, four liberals and four conservatives. Republicans say Democrats “double-crossed” them by breaking a deal they had made to vote for the report.

Democrats Refuse to Rectify “Double-Crossing”

Democrats were so adamant in blocking the study on crime victims that two Democrats newly nominated to the commission by President Joe Biden refused to rectify the “double-crossing” by their predecessors even though they knew it meant their confirmation as chair and vice chair would be blocked. On Friday, the Commission voted not to confirm the people Biden nominated on April 6: Georgetown Law professor Victoria Nourse as vice chair and Rochelle Garza, a former Democrat candidate for Texas Attorney General, as chair.

Republicans Accuse Staff Director of Usurping Control

With no chair in place, a staff member who is supposed to simply work for the commissioners improperly “usurped” control to advance a Democrat agenda in the otherwise evenly-divided body, Republicans said. Mauro Morales, a former Obama administration official, is staff director of the commission and is tasked with carrying out the will of the commissioners. Morales declined to place a vote on the crime victims study on the agenda for Friday’s meeting, while insisting that the commission vote to confirm the chair and vice chair.

Democrats Use Parliamentary Tactics to Block Vote

Democrats and Morales repeatedly used parliamentary tactics to try to block a vote on the crime victims report and force a confirmation vote, with Nourse repeatedly lecturing that she was a law professor who was close with Biden, contending that “my intern” was the associate Attorney General, and suggesting that the “Constitution” meant that Republicans had to vote for her. After it was clear that Democrats were refusing to approve the crime victims vote even though it meant Republicans would not confirm them, Republicans tried to end the meeting to spare them the “embarrassment” of rejecting their confirmation.

Report Remains Shelved

The confirmations of Garza and Nourse were voted down, but the report examining whether poor minorities bear the brunt of policies like those espoused by billionaire George Soros’ favored district attorneys also remained shelved.