When Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed and sworn in to the Supreme Court in October, his seat on the prestigious U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was left vacant. In Novembe, Donald Trump nominated Neomi Rao, who now serves as administrator in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, an agency within the White House Office of Management and Budget, to fill the seat. "She's going to be fantastic—great person," he said at the time.

While it's no surprise that Trump tapped a nominee whose views are conservative, a new BuzzFeed News report cites pieces that Rao wrote that suggest extreme (and horrific) opinions on women and rape. BuzzFeed discovered a 1994 article from the Yale Herald in which then undergraduate Rao wrote that though a drunk man who raped women should be prosecuted, "a good way to avoid a potential date rape is to stay reasonably sober." While as many as 50 percent of campus sexual assault cases involve alcohol, Reo, in those writings, put the blame squarely on victims' shoulders: "And if she drinks to the point where she can no longer choose, well, getting to that point was part of her choice," she wrote. "Implying that a drunk woman has no control of her actions, but that a drunk man does strips women of all moral responsibility."

It's classic victim blaming and while the article is old, it doesn't do much to calm the fears of those who've expressed concern about how Trump nominees might rule when it comes to sexual assault. On social media, the new revelations are sounding warning bells. "What Rao is saying here is that getting drunk means a woman kinda-sorta chose to get raped. Cool defense," tweeted writer Jill Filipovic.

In a statement to Glamour, End Rape on Campus executive director Jess Davidson said Rao's comments "are disqualifying for a judicial nominee or anyone interested in holding public office. Her comments condone victim blaming and perpetuate the rape culture in our schools and society that are dangerous to all individuals. Survivors are not 'responsible' for the violence they experience, and I am disturbed by Rao’s suggestion otherwise."

Other writing from Rao uncovered by BuzzFeed News shows equally concerning viewpoints regarding race and LGBTQ+ issues. (In a 1994 column published in the Yale Herald about LGBTQ+ associations on campus, Rao wrote that "[t]rendy political movements have only recently added sexuality to the standard checklist of traits requiring politics.") Nan Aron, president of the liberal advocacy group Alliance for Justice, told BuzzFeed that Rao's columns are “consistent with the administration’s support of candidates who make racially insensitive statements and comments hostile to sexual assault survivors.”

“She shouldn't be awarded a seat on what many view as the second highest court in the country, which is often a stepping stone to the Supreme Court,” Aron said.

Neither Rao nor the White House has commented on this latest development.