Despite his disqualifying record on civil rights, the U.S. Senate voted 50-46 today to confirm Kenneth Marcus as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
Marcus previously served as acting assistant secretary during the Bush administration, where he built policies based on outdated sex stereotypes and sought to protect anti-LGBTQ bias in the classroom.
During his confirmation hearing earlier this year, Marcus displayed alarming ignorance of federal laws protecting the rights of transgender students, yet supported Secretary Betsy DeVos’s withdrawal of lifesaving guidance ensuring those students are protected.
When asked at that hearing to “name one example” of a civil rights action by President Trump that he disagreed with, Marcus couldn’t name even one.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, gave the following response to his confirmation:
Kenneth Marcus has made clear he will continue the efforts of Secretary DeVos and President Trump to roll back students’ rights. Mr. Marcus has made a career of arguing against equality in our schools. Instead of devoting government resources to protecting students exposed to bullying and harassment, he’s exploited the religious views of others to strip LGBTQ students of their civil rights.
Secretary DeVos has already shown a strong commitment to silencing the voices of transgender students, and the confirmation of Kenneth Marcus will be little solace for the thousands of transgender students and their families concerned for their safety and their education. With Mr. Marcus’ nomination, it is more important than ever to keep a close eye on the Department of Education’s anti-LGBTQ and anti-civil rights agenda and hold them accountable for their harmful actions.
