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Article snippet: Civil rights advocates are raising alarm over President Trump’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s civil rights division. Trump nominated attorney Eric Dreiband, who has represented corporations on matters such as civil rights and employment discrimination, to lead the DOJ’s civil rights division on Thursday. However, the official who led the division under former President Obama issued a statement saying Dreiband is “the wrong person for the job.” “He has opposed important legislation to safeguard our civil rights. And he has no known experience in most of the Civil Rights Division’s core issue areas, such as voting rights, police reform, housing, education, and hate crimes. He is the wrong person for the job,” Vanita Gupta, who now leads the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said in a statement. “Dreiband’s nomination, however, continues the Trump administration’s disturbing trend of retreating from — if not outright undermining — fundamental civil rights priorities,” the NAACP Legal Defense Fund said in a statement on Medium. The White House pushed back on the claims against Dreiband saying nominees are selected based “on the merits of their character and not on the clients they once represented as counsel.” "Mr. Dreiband is highly qualified to run the civil rights division, and we are privileged to have his service,” White House spokeswoman Kelly Love told CNN. The Hill 1625 K Street, NW Suite 900 Washington DC 20006 | 202-628-8500 tel | ... Link to the full article to read more