Senate Democrats confirmed someone who is arguably President Joe Biden’s worst nominee. You can thank former President Donald Trump for it.
Catherine Lhamon, Biden’s nominee for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, was confirmed by a 51-50 vote, with every Democratic senator voting to confirm her and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie.
Lhamon will now be in charge of Title IX enforcement, and her track record is atrocious. As the assistant secretary for civil rights from 2013-2017, she oversaw the destruction of due process rights on college campuses. More than 150 students went on to win lawsuits against universities that set out to destroy their lives without due process as a result of the Obama administration’s directives, which Lhamon was a key part in promoting.
All 50 Senate Republicans were opposed to the nomination, but it didn’t matter. That’s because both senators from Georgia are no longer Republicans. Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock would not have been in the position to confirm Lhamon if Trump had accepted the fact that he lost and focused on helping Republicans hold the Senate rather than encouraging his own voters to stay home.
As the rumors swirl about Trump running for president once again in 2024, he is still focusing on helping Democrats win, not Republicans. His delusional feud with Georgia Republicans who refused to rig the election on his behalf has led him essentially to endorse Democrat Stacey Abrams for governor over GOP Gov. Brian Kemp. Trump’s feud with Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is chiefly responsible for depressing GOP turnout in Georgia and handing the Senate to Democrats.
Every terrible nominee and piece of Democratic legislation that manages to squeak through the Senate by one or two votes falls squarely on the shoulders of Trump and his temper tantrum. Lhamon is just the latest example, and the Democratic reconciliation bill may follow soon after. Trump gets credit for many of the accomplishments during his own presidency, but he bears responsibility for the disaster that has followed as well.
