Sen. Mike Lee of Utah is blocking the nomination of Chai Feldblum, a lesbian, because of her "radical views on marriage."
y Tim Fitzsimons
Members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency that enforces civil rights laws in the workplace, are routinely reconfirmed in a bipartisan manner. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, however, is bucking the norm by putting a hold on the reappointment of Chai Feldblum, the first openly LGBTQ person to sit on the commission, because of her “radical views on marriage.â€
“One nominee to the commission’s five-member board wants to use the federal agency’s power to undermine our nation’s founding principles,†Lee wrote on his website earlier this year in a post titled “A Threat to Marriage from the EEOC.â€
“Don’t think for a second that you, your family, and your neighbors will be left alone if Feldblum gets her way," he wrote.
Lee and a number of other social conservatives have been speaking out against Feldblum since she was renominated last December. If the commission does not have enough members for a quorum by the end of Feldblum’s term on Jan. 1, the commission will not be able to meet and fulfill its duty to enforce the Civil Rights Act’s ban on employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability and genetic information.
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/gop-senator-holding-reappointment-eeoc-s-only-lgbtq-commissioner-n949611
