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Senate confirms extreme activist to oversee civil rights at Department of Education

Wednesday, Oct 20, 2021

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom General Counsel Kristen Waggoner regarding the U.S. Senate’s confirmation Wednesday of Catherine Lhamon as assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education, a position she previously held during the Obama administration:

“The Senate has just narrowly confirmed a far-left activist, Catherine Lhamon, to serve as assistant secretary for civil rights at the Department of Education. During her time in this position under the Obama administration, Ms. Lhamon led the charge on policies that allowed males to enter girls’ private spaces, violated the free speech and due process rights of students, and encouraged harassment of religious schools. Now that she is back in this role, ADF will be watching closely to see if Ms. Lhamon decides to pick up where she left off. If she, or any government official, attacks the fundamental freedoms of students and religious schools, ADF will remain steadfast in our commitment to advocate for safety and equal opportunities for women, free speech, and religious liberty.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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ABOUT Kristen Waggoner

As the CEO, president, and general counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner leads the faith-based legal organization in protecting fundamental freedoms and promoting the inherent dignity of all people throughout the U.S. and around the world. Waggoner oversees the efforts of more than 400 ADF team members in seven global offices as well as nearly 5,000 network attorneys engaged in litigation, legislation, training, funding, and public advocacy. ADF also provides legal counsel to over 3,500 churches and ministries through its Ministry Alliance program and defends the persecuted church in dozens of countries. Since 2011, ADF has won 15 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, including serving on Mississippi’s legal team in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade. Waggoner successfully argued three of those cases: Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights CommissionUzuebgunam v. Presczewski, and 303 Creative v. Elenis. She is a Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent™ attorney in Martindale-Hubbell, who clerked for Justice Richard B. Sanders of the Washington Supreme Court after law school and served in private practice in Seattle for nearly 20 years.