Mateer’s Nomination is a Brazen Attack on LGBTQ Americans
And it continues a dangerous Trump administration trend.
President Trump nominated 16 more people to serve on the federal bench earlier this month, including the First Assistant Attorney General of Texas — Jeff Mateer. Formerly of the anti-LGBTQ group First Liberty Institute, Mateer has made headlines this week for his abhorrent statements about transgender children. He’s also a proponent of ‘conversion therapy’ and believes same-sex marriage could lead to bestiality.
This much is clear: The nomination of Mateer to a lifetime seat on the federal bench is yet another attack by the Trump administration on civil rights, and on LGBTQ rights in particular.
In a May 2015 speech titled “The Church and Homosexuality” uncovered by CNN this week, Mateer cited transgender children as an example of “how Satan’s plan is working and the destruction that’s going on.” That is an outrageous statement, and should be immediately disqualifying for a lifetime position that requires impartiality.
Mateer, of course, isn’t Trump’s first nominee to harbor anti-LGBTQ bias. Several of his Cabinet nominees, including Jeff Sessions, Betsy DeVos, and Ben Carson, have dark histories of opposing LGBTQ rights. The same is true for many of Trump’s judicial nominees, like Damien Schiff, John Bush, Stephen Schwartz, and Joan Larsen.
And Mateer’s nomination is also deeply troubling in a state like Texas, which held a special legislative session last month to — in part — try to pass anti-transgender legislation similar to North Carolina’s controversial H.B. 2. That legislation, passed by the state Senate, never passed the House — but it certainly won’t be the last anti-trans measure introduced in the state. LGBTQ Texans — and all LGBTQ Americans — deserve federal judges who do not hold such deeply held hatred and animus.
In statements earlier this month, Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans who serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, praised Mateer’s nomination — calling Mateer a “principled” man who “will serve Texans well on the bench” and “an accomplished attorney with a proven record of excellence.” According to the Houston Chronicle, however, it is unclear whether this particular speech was disclosed to the senators or screening committee — a disclosure that is required. If Cornyn and Cruz didn’t know about it when they made the recommendation, they certainly know about it now and should immediately call for his name to be withdrawn.
But Cornyn and Cruz likely already knew exactly who they were recommending. Last year, The Austin Chronicle reported, in a story titled “Paxton Stacks AG’s Office With Anti-LGBT Culture Warriors,” Mateer’s background was laid out in detail. “Attorney General Ken Paxton — facing multiple legal charges, including securities fraud — has asked overtly right-wing, anti-LGBT employees to join his office, reaffirming the AG’s mission to use religion as a vehicle to discriminate,” the story said.
Mateer’s nomination to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas is an assault on our nation’s ideals of equality and inclusion and must not move forward. If it does, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights coalition will be here to fight back — because LGBTQ rights are civil and human rights, and our communities will continue to stand united against this administration’s cruel attacks.
