Today, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) voted against advancing the nomination of William Barr to serve as Attorney General. Booker released the following statement: 

“After two years of relentless attacks on Americans’ civil rights by the President and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, we need an Attorney General who will work to uphold the values that are most in danger,” said Booker. “We need an Attorney General who will work to advance the principle of equal justice under the law. But Mr. Barr was an architect of mass incarceration and has made it clear he lacks an understanding of the role of implicit bias in our criminal justice system and the disproportionate impact on communities of color. Given his record, I am especially concerned about how he will implement the criminal justice reforms contained in the First Step Act, which Congress just overwhelmingly passed into law.

“At a time when our shared principles of equal protection and civil rights for all are under assault, we need an Attorney General who will rise to the challenge of defending them. I voted against Mr. Barr’s nomination because I have little confidence in his willingness and ability to meet this challenge.”