- Tuesday, January 14: The Senate Committee on Armed Services will hold a hearing on the expected nomination of Peter B. Hegseth for Secretary of Defense.
- Wednesday, January 15, and Thursday, January 16: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary will hold a hearing on the expected nomination of former Florida Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi for Attorney General of the Department of Justice.
- Wednesday, January 15: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on the expected nomination of South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem for Secretary of Homeland Security.
- Wednesday, January 15: The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations will hold a hearing on the expected nomination of Florida U.S. Senator Marco A. Rubio for Secretary of State.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today urged members of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee to oppose and question Peter B. Hegseth during his nomination hearing for Secretary of Defense, which begins on Tuesday.
Separately, CAIR is urging members of several Senate committees to question these expected nominees on their positions and plans to uphold and respect the civil rights of all Americans.
Opposing Secretary of Defense Nomination
CAIR previously called for opposition to Hegseth’s nomination following widespread reports that he repeatedly shouted “kill all Muslims” in a “drunk and violent manner” in 2015. CAIR is also calling for the Senate to reject Hegseth because of his calls for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Masjid, his support for war crimes, and his past smears targeting Muslims and Islam.
CAIR is specifically urging members of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee to question Hegseth on how he would uphold the rights and religious freedom of American Muslim soldiers in light of previously writing that Islam“is not a religion of peace, and it never has been” and claiming that “all modern Muslim countries are either formal or de facto no-go zones for practicing Christians and Jews.”
CAIR notes Hegseth has a tattoo stating ”Deus Vult,” Latin for “God wills it.” That phrase was the battle cry of the First Crusade.
Attorney General Nomination
CAIR urges the Senate Committee on the Judiciary to question Attorney General nominee Pamela Jo Bondi on her plans to:
- Uphold civil rights by preventing the Department of Justice from being weaponized to threaten the First Amendment rights of pro-Palestinian human rights student protesters, activists, and organizations. CAIR notes Bondipreviously supported calls for deporting college studentswho protested against Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
- Provide legal and policy recommendations to the incoming administration on whether to reinstate any Muslim or African travel bans and use federal law enforcement or the U.S. military to round up and deport undocumented immigrants.
- Close loopholes in federal guidance on racial and religious profiling, which still allow federal law enforcement to use nationality and national origin as a proxy to discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or religion under the guise of national security.
- Address longstanding American Muslim community concerns about the discriminatory and unconstitutional federal terrorism watchlist.
Secretary of Homeland Security Nomination
CAIR urges the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to question Secretary of Homeland Security nominee Governor Kristi Noem on her plans to:
- Ensure that Muslim travelers, both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, are not racially or religiously profiled, detained, and questioned by Customs and Border Protection about political activities, particularly relating to Palestinian human rights advocacy. CAIR notes Noem previously supported the previous administration’s “Muslim and African” travelers ban.
- End the Department of Homeland Security’s discriminatory Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) program, now known as DHS’s Center for Prevention Partnerships and Programs (CP3), which promotes state-level targeted violence and terrorism prevention (TVTP) strategies, which has a history of targeting American Muslim community members.
- Provide greater due process and transparency in the federal terrorism watchlist Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP).
Secretary of State Nomination
CAIR urges the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to question Secretary of State nominee Senator Marco A. Rubio on his plans to:
- Secure a permanent ceasefire to Israel’s invasion and genocide in Gaza and uphold U.S. and international law in the face of Israel’s ongoing occupation, apartheid policies, land confiscation in Palestinian territories, and hostilities toward the people of Lebanon and Syria. CAIR notes that Rubio is an “outspoken defender of Israel.”
- Build on his prior efforts to hold China accountable for its human rights abuses and genocide of Uyghur Muslims and other Turkic minorities facing widespread imprisonment, sexual violence, and other abuses under the Chinese Communist government’s authoritarian rule in Xinjiang.
- Adopt the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to immediately designate India as a “Country of Particular Concern” for its systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom targeting minority populations.
In the coming days and weeks, CAIR will encourage these and other relevant Senate committees to hold the incoming administration’s nominees accountable and to question them on their plans to uphold the civil rights and liberties of all Americans, as well as the human rights of those affected by U.S. foreign policies.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw, 202-716-6242, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com