Nomination of Vanita Gupta

Floor Speech

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Mr. COONS. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Vanita Gupta's nomination to be the Associate Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice. Those of us who have had the joy and the honor of getting to know her and working with her know Ms. Gupta to be engaging and smart, a skilled and balanced lawyer and practitioner, and someone who will bring great values in leadership to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ms. Gupta has devoted her career to public service and to protecting and advancing the civil and constitutional rights we all cherish as Americans. President Biden, Attorney General Garland, and Lisa Monaco, the President's nominee to be Deputy Attorney General, have all made clear Ms. Gupta would serve as an integral part of the leadership team at the Justice Department. She would bring to that critical role a long record of working with folks across the ideological spectrum in our country on some of our Nation's most difficult and most sensitive issues, some that are urgent and pressing like criminal justice reform and policing.

Unfortunately, a campaign launched against Ms. Gupta shortly after her nomination has painted a misleading portrait of her as a partisan and a radical. I won't repeat or rehash these unfounded critiques, but the fact is this caricature could not be further from the truth.

As letter after letter has come in from her supporters to the Judiciary Committee, in which I serve, we heard over and over that, at her core, Ms. Gupta is a person who seeks to build bridges, to understand others' points of view, and to build consensus and solve problems.

One of the elements of this campaign to mischaracterize her suggests that somehow she is anti-police or anti-law enforcement, and, in this particular instance, the distinction between those who worked with her and know her and what we have heard in this social media campaign and in our committee and here on the floor of the Senate could not be sharper.

We heard from multiple leading national law enforcement organizations that have worked with her in specific and clear and concrete terms. The National Sheriffs' Association, in their letter of support, said:

Ms. Gupta has an open mind and a strong desire to understand the viewpoint of each stakeholder. She is able to find common ground with law enforcement.

They added:

[Ms. Gupta] possesses immense credibility among law enforcement leaders.

And they said:

[She is] exactly the type of leader who is needed in the Justice Department today.

From the Fraternal Order of Police:

She always worked with us to find common ground, even when that seemed impossible. Her open and candid approach has created a working relationship grounded in mutual respect and understanding.

And the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association in their letter said:

[Ms. Gupta has a] proven history of working with law enforcement agencies . . . and elected officials across the spectrum.

We even heard from a leading conservative advocate and activist, Grover Norquist, the leader of Americans for Tax Reform. Mr. Norquist wrote:

I have come to know and respect Ms. Gupta through our common work on criminal justice reform issues. I found her strongly qualified, effective, principled, driven by a desire to seek common purpose and consensus. . . . At every step, Ms. Gupta was an honest broker, someone with an ability to understand, appreciate different perspectives, someone who sought consensus.

Last but not least, we heard from Mark Holden, general counsel of Koch Industries, who worked with her on criminal justice reform and wrote the committee saying:

I respected and admired how Ms. Gupta was not ideologically driven, but principled and solutions-oriented. . . . Ms. Gupta is a principled leader who seeks to find common ground and will work with anyone committed to making the system better and more effective.

I just plead with my colleagues to reflect for a moment: Are these the sorts of letters that we would have received in support of someone who is genuinely intolerant and in support of someone who is the radical activist this misleading campaign has attempted to portray her as being?

Instead, Vanita Gupta has demonstrated in her work and in her career that she is pragmatic, she is principled, and she is a relationship builder in search of solutions. Given this broad and bipartisan support in the letters that came to us on the committee and as Members of this body, I was surprised and disappointed that some of my colleagues on the other side have continued to levee this misleading barrage of unsubstantiated attacks.

So, in conclusion, I would ask my colleagues to consider her fairly and to listen to the range and the scores of groups that have described her as a principled, honest broker. She cares deeply about protecting the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans and about being fairminded and taking into consideration all points of view. She will bring that same approach to her service and leadership as Associate Attorney General.

This should not be a party-line, partisan vote. Vanita Gupta is the right leader at the right time to help our U.S. Department of Justice tackle some very difficult issues, and I am pleased to stand in support of her nomination and will vote for her confirmation.

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