Congresswoman slams Trump's worst judge pick yet: 'He is a racist'

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) highlighted the racism of Trump’s judicial nominee Thomas Farr at an event held on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s murder.

Trump nominated Farr to the Eastern District of North Carolina, a long-vacant seat Republicans blocked under President Obama for not one but two different black women nominees.

Fudge compared Farr to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, noting that he has embraced racist policies while Democrats in the House advised senators to vote against his confirmation.

“We are back again to say to the Senate, you cannot confirm Judge Farr. He is a racist. He has a past that is steeped in Jim Crow and segregation,” she said.

“He is a person who supports voter intimidation and voter suppression. He believes in dirty tricks that we have seen across the south for many, many years and has defended them in court.”

Farr was a disciple of North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms, who openly embraced racism in the Senate for most of his life. Farr helped Republicans in North Carolina pass restrictive voting laws that were found by federal courts to be racist by design.

“Jesse Helms has taught him everything he knows,” Fudge said, “and he has made him proud.”

Yet despite these facts about Farr, and most likely because of them, his nomination has the backing of Trump and other Republicans.

If Republicans have their way, Farr will preside over the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina and be able to undermine civil rights legislation and law.

That is why Fudge, along with the NAACP, AFL-CIO, and the National Council of Jewish Women, among others, organized the event to highlight opposition to his nomination.

“He is not one who can dispense judgment fairly,” Fudge said at the event Wednesday.

The Trump administration, enabled by Republicans in Congress, has demonstrated an open hostility to civil rights and equality. Instead of furthering the cause as they invoke King’s name and legacy, Republicans have pushed against the ideas he championed.

Farr’s nomination is the latest example of how vehemently the right is opposed to progress and show how far they will go to suppress the fundamental right to voting and representation.