Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Justice and Civil Rights
Durbin: An Insurrection Without Consequences Or Examination Is A Dress Rehearsal For The Next Insurrection
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today slammed Senate Republicans' refusal to support the bipartisan January 6 Commission, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that the bipartisan Commission is necessary in order to prevent Trump loyalists from rewriting the reality of what happened on January 6, 2021, and to honor the brave law enforcement officers who defended … Continue Reading
05.26.21
Durbin, Duckworth, Colleagues Introduce Safe Gun Storage Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) to introduce legislation directing the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish safety standards for firearm locks and firearm safes. "Too many families and friends have mourned a loved one lost to gun violence. Congress must step up and finally address this issue for what it is - an epidemic," said Durbin. "With this l… Continue Reading
05.26.21
Durbin, Duckworth, Kelly Introduce Resolution Establishing "National Gun Violence Awareness Day"
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today introduced a resolution in the Senate establishing June 4, 2021, as "National Gun Violence Awareness Day" and designating June as "National Gun Violence Awareness Month." U.S. Representative Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) has introduced a companion resolution in the House. Last year was one of the deadliest years on record for the United States, with an estimated 19,300 individuals killed in gun homi… Continue Reading
05.26.21
Durbin Questions Nominees To Lead ATF And DEA In Judiciary Committee Hearing
WASHINGTON - During the Senate Judiciary Committee's sixth nominations hearing of the 117th Congress, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned David H. Chipman, nominee to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Anne Milgram, nominee to be Administrator of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Durbin noted that Mr. Chipman's nomination is already facing baseless attacks from the political fringe… Continue Reading
05.26.21
Durbin Gives Opening Remarks In Judiciary Committee Hearing For Judicial & Executive Nominees
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered his opening statement during the nominations hearing for Tiffany P. Cunningham, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit; Margaret Irene Strickland, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Mexico; David H. Chipman, to be Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Ur Mendoza Jaddou, to be Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Serv… Continue Reading
05.25.21
Durbin Receives Update On Cook County Drug Court And Veterans Treatment Court From Judges
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with Cook County Court Judge Neera Walsh, who presides over Cook County Access to Community Treatment (ACT) Drug Court; and Cook County Court Judge Michael Hood, who presides over the Cook County Veterans Treatment Court; to receive an update on the courts' programming and services to provide individualized, evidence-based treatment and recovery support to defendants. During th… Continue Reading
05.25.21
Durbin Statement On One Year Anniversary Of Murder Of George Floyd
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement on the one year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd: "His name was George Floyd. He was a 46-year-old Black man. He was a father, a brother, a son, a friend. He died on the streets of Minneapolis with the knee of a police officer on his neck-an image that haunts me to this day. The injustice of his killing is undeniable. And so is the fact that syst… Continue Reading
05.25.21
Senate Confirms Kristen Clarke To Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division
WASHINGTON - On the first anniversary of George Floyd's murder, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nomination of Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden's nominee to be Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, by a bipartisan vote of 51-48. Ms. Clarke will be the first Senate-confirmed woman and woman of color to lead the Civil Rights Division. Ahead of her confirmation vote, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ar… Continue Reading
05.24.21
Durbin, Padilla, Judiciary Democrats Press Department Of Justice To Support Immigration Judges
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, today led a group of nine Judiciary Committee Democrats in urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reverse the Trump Administration's attacks on the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) and the independence of immigration judges more broadly. In a letter … Continue Reading
05.24.21
Durbin, Klobuchar, Colleagues Introduce Legislation To Ban Pre-Checked Recurring Donation Boxes
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, will introduce legislation to ban political campaigns from using pre-checked recurring donation boxes. The legislation follows the Federal Election Commission's (FEC) unanimous, bipartisan vote recommending that Congress ban political campaigns from automatically opting donors into recurring contributions throu… Continue Reading
05.20.21
Durbin Attends White House Signing Of COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today released the following statement after attending the White House signing ceremony of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, legislation introduced by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL). This legislation will improve the Justice Department's response to the appalling rise in hate incidents targeting the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and provide state and lo… Continue Reading
05.20.21
Senate Judiciary Committee Advances President Biden's First Slate Of Judicial Nominees
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nominations of Ketanji Brown Jackson, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit; Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Seventh Circuit; Julien Xavier Neals, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; Zahid N. Quraishi, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey; and Regina M. Rodriguez, to be United States District Judge for the D… Continue Reading
05.19.21
Durbin Meets With Biden's Nominee To Lead Drug Enforcement Administration
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today met virtually with Anne Milgram, President Joe Biden's nominee to be the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). During their meeting, Durbin discussed reining in excessive opioid production, incorporating public health approaches into law enforcement policies, and combatting the opioid epidemic. "After years of absent leadership at DEA, I am pleased to see a qualified,… Continue Reading
05.19.21
Durbin Slams Republican Refusal To Support Bipartisan January 6th Commission
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today slammed Congressional Republicans' refusal to support the bipartisan January 6 Commission, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that the bipartisan Commission is necessary in order to prevent Trump loyalists from rewriting the reality of what happened on January 6, 2021. "We know President Trump and his followers have been … Continue Reading
05.18.21
Ahead Of Motion To Discharge, Durbin Calls On Senate Republicans To Support Kristen Clarke's Nomination To Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division
WASHINGTON - Ahead of the vote to discharge from the Judiciary Committee the nomination of Kristen Clarke, President Joe Biden's nominee to be Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his Republican colleagues to support her nomination. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin argued that Ms. Clarke is the ideal candidate to restore credibility at the Civi… Continue Reading
05.14.21
Senate Judiciary Dems Press DOJ To Not Appeal Federal Court Decision Ordering Release Of Key Memo Related To Mueller Report
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights; today led Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland expressing serious concerns about the Trump-era Department of Justice's (DOJ) apparent misrepresentations to a federal court regarding an Office… Continue Reading
05.13.21
Judiciary Committee Advance Three Bipartisan Law Enforcement Bills During Police Week
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today announced that the Committee advanced three bills, on a unanimous and bipartisan basis, that will help support law enforcement officers by providing resources they need to do their jobs safely and build trust within the communities they serve. In 1962, President Kennedy signed a law authorizing the President to proclaim May 15 as "Peace Officers Memorial Day" and the week in which it falls … Continue Reading
05.13.21
Judiciary Committee Advance Nominations Of Kristen Clarke & Todd Kim
WASHINGTON - The Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced the nomination of Todd Kim to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) by a vote of 15-7 and the nomination of Kristen Clarke to be the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division by a vote of 11-11. Under the provisions of S. Res. 27, Leader Schumer may now file a discharge motion on Ms. Clarke's nomination to place her on the executive calendar. Ahead of the votes, U.S. … Continue Reading
05.13.21
Durbin Meets With Advocates From The Alliance For Criminal Justice Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, met virtually with advocates from the Alliance for Criminal Justice Reform (ACJR) to discuss police reform. In their meeting, the group talked about the need to meet the moment with real change to bring about justice and accountability that Americans across the nation are calling for. "In 2018, Congress came together on a bipartisan basis to tackle one of the toughest political issues of our day… Continue Reading
05.12.21
Durbin Questions AG Garland & DHS Secretary Mayorkas On Domestic Terrorism & Border Security
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today asked questions during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on domestic violent extremism with Attorney General Merrick Garland and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Durbin asked Attorney General Garland how the Department of Justice (DOJ) is addressing the possibility that members of law enforcement were involved in the January 6 insurrection. "[After… Continue Reading