Shawn Fleetwood writes for the Federalist about interesting developments on Capitol Hill.
The American Bar Association (ABA) is “a nonpartisan membership organization open to all American lawyers.”
That is the laughable claim ABA President Michelle Behnke tried to sell during a Wednesday hearing before the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses. And judging by their remarks, it’s one the body’s Republican members clearly weren’t buying.
For context, the American Bar Association is an organization that wields immense power and influence throughout the country’s legal system. Not only does it play a big role in law school accreditation and judicial nominations, but it also establishes standards for legal conduct throughout the profession and files briefs in high-profile court cases.
Despite regularly professing to be “nonpartisan,” however, the ABA has repeatedly shown itself to be a left-wing advocacy organization. As noted by the Capital Research Center, the group “has supported and lobbied for a broad left-of-center agenda on issues including criminal justice policy, immigration, abortion, LGBT issues, and gun control.” It’s also embraced DEI ideology and “has adopted lobbying priorities including legal status for nearly all illegal immigrants living in the United States, the repeal of mandatory-minimum sentencing laws, taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income Americans, and the implementation of affirmative action programs.”
Many of these left-wing positions took center stage during Wednesday’s House hearing.
Throughout his opening statement, Task Force Chairman Brandon Gill, R-Texas, underscored how the ABA “has continuously pursued discriminatory DEI practices.” These policies, he said, “seek to pit Americans against one another on account of their immutable characteristics, and, at their core, fundamentally reject the American ideal of equal justice and of achieving success based on one’s merit.”
The Texas congressman went on to repeatedly press Behnke — who reaffirmed her support for DEI in the legal profession — on the ABA’s leftist views on “diversity” and “inclusion.”
