AFSCME Opposes Cory Wilson Confirmation to 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals

WASHINGTON — AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued a statement urging the U.S. Senate to reject Cory Wilson to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals following Wilson’s confirmation hearing today before the Senate Judiciary Committee:

“In the middle of a global pandemic that has triggered a catastrophic economic downturn, the U.S. Senate should be focused on delivering aid to states, cities and towns so we can safely reopen the economy. Instead, they are doing the one thing they care about: confirming hard line, divisive judicial nominees to satisfy an ideological agenda.

“Cory Wilson is manifestly unqualified to sit on the federal bench. He has served for all of nine months as a state judge in Mississippi, having spent most of his career pushing a partisan agenda that makes it impossible for him to be an impartial jurist who can fairly apply facts to the law.

“If Wilson is confirmed, it will mean that a man who has mocked the protections of the Affordable Care Act will be making life-and-death decisions about health care for millions of Americans. It will mean that someone who believes in voter roll purges and voter ID requirements will have the power to restrict access to the ballot box for people of color.

“Americans are demanding that their elected leaders in Washington focus on the crisis at hand and get our communities the help they need. This is a moment for statesmanship, not partisanship.”