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The U.S. Senate's education committee voted along party lines Thursday to advance the nomination of Kenneth Marcus to head the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.
Marcus is currently president of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a civil rights group founded to fight anti-Semitism.
He previously served as acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the department under the George W. Bush administration. If confirmed by the full Senate, Marcus would take over the duties of Candice Jackson, who is currently acting assistant secretary.
“Mr. Marcus has a deep understanding of civil rights issues and has upheld these rights in his previous roles as president and founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, as staff director for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and as head of the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education under President George W. Bush,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the education committee, in a statement. “The world’s largest Jewish campus organization recently called Marcus ‘a true leader in fighting discrimination.’ Given Mr. Marcus’s vast experience and credentials, I am glad to support his nomination and hope he will soon be confirmed by the full Senate.”
At the Brandeis Center, Marcus has played an active role in the debate involving speech attacking Israel on college campuses. His critics have said he is overly quick to conflate any criticism of the nation with anti-Semitism and say his leadership of the office would have a chilling effect on campuses. Palestine Legal, a U.S.-based group that supports Palestinian rights, was quick to criticize the vote Thursday.
Marcus has less of a public track record on other contentious issues handled by the Office for Civil Rights, such as campus-based sexual assault and gender discrimination. His responses to written questions from committee members this month didn't provide any further clarity on those issues, and committee Democrats indicated their unanswered questions would lead them to withhold their support for his nomination.
