Rep. Marcia Fudge concerned about agriculture department civil rights nominee

Marcia Fudge

Warrensville Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge speaks at a campaign rally. On Tuesday, Fudge expressed concern about the record of a woman President Trump nominated to head the agriculture department's civil rights office. (AP Photo/Phil Long, File)AP

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge is publicly expressing reservations about the civil rights record of an African American woman President Donald Trump has nominated to head the agriculture department’s civil rights office.

Fudge, who chairs a House subcommittee that oversees U.S. Department of Agriculture operations, on Tuesday sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue that expresses concern about the record of Naomi Earp, who chaired the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under President George W. Bush after decades of work in several federal agencies including the agriculture department.

Last year, President Trump nominated Earp to be the agriculture department’s Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. Although the Senate Agriculture Committee signed off on her nomination last December, the full Senate never considered it, so Trump resubmitted the nomination in January. Meanwhile, Perdue made Earp and several other pending nominees deputy secretaries so they could start work while awaiting Senate confirmation.

Fudge’s letter says Earp did not meet fair treatment standards for workers during her past service as a federal employee. Fudge cites a series of reports “allegedly linking her to workplace abuses and discriminatory practices,” calling them “deeply troubling, especially given the important role of the office Mrs. Earp is nominated to lead.”

One of the reports, which the NAACP produced in 2002, accuses Earp of having an abusive management style, mistreating employees with disabilities, and having “a philosophical predisposition to reward white males while showing disdain and contempt for many highly qualified African American employees.”

Fudge’s letter asks Perdue to provide her with details on Earp’s role at the USDA and any civil rights initiatives or policies she’s undertaken as well a description of how Earp plans to address any agriculture department allegations of civil rights violations, including harassment and discrimination.

At her November confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee, Earp pledged to build a “culture of civility” based on respect for customers and employees at the Agriculture Department.

“If confirmed, I plan to specifically target harassment and retaliation issues with new approaches to training designed to address behavior and not just raise awareness and sensitivity,” Earp testified. “Eradicating harassment and retaliation would be the centerpiece of my tenure in an effort to permanently change the very culture and atmosphere of USDA."

Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown shares Fudge’s concerns about the process, and opposed Earp’s nomination in a December Senate Agriculture Committee vote because he felt she gave inadequate responses to the committee’s questions, a Brown spokesperson said. On Tuesday, the committee took a voice vote to move the nomination forward after Earp amended her answers and Brown did not object, the spokesperson said.

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