Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC Strongly Supports Confirmation of Vanita Gupta for Associate Attorney General

 Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC Strongly Supports Confirmation of Vanita Gupta for Associate Attorney General

WASHINGTON, D.C. — March 9, 2021 — Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC expresses its strong support for Vanita Gupta to serve as Associate Attorney General as she appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee today.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC President and Executive Director, John C. Yang, issues the following statement:

“Vanita Gupta is a trailblazer in the civil rights community and has spent decades working to advance the rights and dignity of all Americans. If confirmed, Vanita would become the first Asian American and woman of color to serve as Associate Attorney General. This would make her the highest-ranking Asian American at the U.S. Department of Justice in its history. 

It is meaningful to see a child of immigrants step into such an important leadership position in the Biden-Harris Administration. Advancing Justice – AAJC has witnessed Vanita’s tireless dedication for the last three years as the head of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. We have worked side-by-side with her and can attest to her commitment to the protection of civil rights, such as protecting our right to vote, fighting for everyone to be counted in the 2020 Census, and protecting affirmative action. Previously, while leading the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, she enforced federal voting rights laws and fought discrimination in education, housing, and employment. We are confident that she will lead with courage and empathy, and her decades of experience as a civil rights lawyer, Justice Department official, and civil rights leader make her the right person for this incredibly important role.

As the nation reels from the white supremacist attack on Congress, and Asian American communities face unprecedented levels of hate incidents amidst the pandemic, we urge the Senate to confirm Vanita Gupta as Associate Attorney General to help lead the Justice Department during this critical time.”