Release: Friday, January 22, 2016
Democratic Party of Georgia Latino Caucus Statement on Sen. David Perdue’s Partisan Games with Nomination of Dax Lopez
Atlanta, GA – Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Latino Caucus Chair Antonio Molina issued the following statement on Sen. David Perdue’s decision to block the nomination of Dax Lopez to a federal judgeship.
“Senator Perdue’s decision to block a hearing for such an accomplished Georgian as Dax Lopez shows us just how out of touch and disconnected the Georgia GOP has become. Perdue even admitted on the record that the reasoning behind his decision was Dax Lopez’s participation with GALEO—an organization committed to increasing civic engagement in the Latino community—made him ‘uncomfortable.’
“These kinds of partisan games only reinforce what we already know about the GOP—there is no room at their table for Latinos. They’ve now gone from blocking commonsense immigration reform and opportunity for DREAMers to depriving Georgia of a talented legal mind for no other reason than his association with the Latino community.
“Senator Perdue campaigned as a self-described ‘outsider,’ but now it’s clear he’s nothing more than your typical Washington politician willing to capitulate to the extreme, xenophobic wing of his of Party.”
Background
AJC 1-20-2016 – Perdue puts end to nomination of Lopez to Georgia’s federal bench
The nomination that would have produced Georgia’s first lifetime-appointed Latino federal judge was scuttled Wednesday after Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue declined to back his appointment to the bench.
Perdue on Wednesday declined to provide a “blue slip” for Dax Lopez, a severe blow to his nomination. Each home-state senator customarily must send in the slip, signaling approval of a nominee, before he or she goes to the full Judiciary Committee.
… Perdue said in a statement that he became “uncomfortable” with Lopez’s participation with the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials after a review of his professional and judicial record.
“I am particularly concerned with his continued participation with this organization…”