Bipartisan Commission on Civil Rights slams Trump administration for 'undoing decades of civil and human rights progress'
The Trump administration is "undoing decades of civil and human rights progress," especially regarding LGBTQ issues, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said in a report published last Thursday.
The study is the result of a two-year probe launched after several agencies announced budget and personnel cuts in departments that oversee civil rights. Stripping these divisions of resources, the commission found, left "allegations of civil rights violations unredressed."
The federal watchdog group also alleged that the administration's application of "religious liberty" guidance since 2017 has been marginalizing LGBTQ communities. The report cites the example of the DOJ supporting a Colorado-based baker who refused to sell cake to a same-sex couple in a discriminatory lawsuit, as well the "elimination of data collection on LGBTQ status."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a statement, the White House denounced the report as a product of the "radical left" to paint LGBTQ Americans as "threatened," reports NBC News.
While the independent, bipartisan commission will not be able to enforce their findings, the report will still be presented to Congress at the end of the year. "After that," notes NBC News, "it's up to legislators to act."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ramisa Rob is a web intern at The Week. She is also an investigative reporting fellow at Brian Ross Investigates, and has previously worked for the The Daily Star. A recent graduate of the University of Michigan, she is currently pursuing her Masters at NYU Tisch.
-
6 lovely barn homesFeature Featuring a New Jersey homestead on 63 acres and California property with a silo watchtower
-
Film reviews: ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Is This Thing On?’Feature A born grifter chases his table tennis dreams and a dad turns to stand-up to fight off heartbreak
-
Political cartoons for December 14Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a new White House flag, Venezuela negotiations, and more
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
