Recent confirmations and appointments in key federal civil rights roles are a powerful step forward in restoring equal treatment under the law and ending racial preferences in government and the workplace.
New Commissioner Brittany Bull Panuccio joins the EEOC after serving the Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and before that, as Nominations Counsel. Acting Chair Andrea Lucas declared that, now that the EEOC has a quorum, the agency is now “empowered to deliver fully on our promise to advance the most significant civil rights agenda in a generation.” The EEOC’s current objectives signal a decisive shift away from race- and sex-based preferences and toward true equality. These priorities include rooting out unlawful DEI-motivated discrimination, protecting workers from national origin discrimination including anti-American bias, defending single-sex spaces, and addressing under-enforced areas such as religious discrimination and antisemitism.
Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture welcomes back Devon Westhill as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. Westhill previously led the USDA’s civil rights office and before serving as President and General Counsel of our own Center for Equal Opportunity. We know he will tirelessly enforce our civil rights laws as written and restore confidence in the USDA.
Finally, the U.S. Department of Education also welcomes back its new Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly M. Richey, who brings deep civil rights law and policy experience to her leadership in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Richey previously served as acting assistant secretary and principal deputy assistant secretary at OCR.
Together, these leaders represent an affirmation of America’s original civil rights promise: that no person should be advantaged or disadvantaged because of race, sex, or national origin. Their collective efforts promise to restore fairness, uphold the rule of law, and move our nation closer to fulfilling the promise of our civil rights laws.
