May 20, 2019
Dear Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Feinstein:
On behalf of the AFL-CIO, I urge you to oppose the nomination of Daniel Collins to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. We have both procedural and substantive concerns about this nomination.
California Senators Feinstein and Harris strongly oppose this nominee. Historically, this fact alone would have prohibited even scheduling consideration of these nominations. Once again, however, this Administration deliberately has avoided meaningful consultation by choosing to circumvent the traditional process used to select consensus judicial nominees.
Senators must have an opportunity to examine the complete record of judicial nominees if they are to fulfill their Constitutional obligation to provide “advice and consent.” Nominees with controversial records deserve extra scrutiny, and Mr. Collins has a career records that raises profound concerns about his ability to be impartial.
Mr. Collins has been a staunch and consistent protector of corporate interests, no matter the equities. He currently is defending Wells Fargo against the City of Oakland’s lawsuit challenging the bank’s discriminatory lending practices, and he has repeatedly defended corporations from class action consumer lawsuits. He also has advocated for overturning the landmark Miranda v. Arizona decision, and supported challenges to the Affordable Care Act.
The AFL-CIO urges you to oppose the nomination of Mr. Collins to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sincerely,
William Samuel, Director
Government Affairs Department