Post submitted by Jay Brown, former HRC Communications Director

President Donald Trump has selected John Gore for a key role in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. Gore is the lawyer who defended the University of North Carolina in a suit challenging the school’s enforcement of the discriminatory HB2.

“President Trump just appointed someone who defended one of the most discriminatory laws in the land to a key role in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. This is shameful,” said HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow. “If these reports are true, anybody who cares about civil rights should be gravely concerned. Among other things, HB2 places transgender North Carolinians in harm's way and bans cities from passing non-discrimination protections, which has cost the state more than $600 million. President Trump appears to be assembling an anti-LGBTQ team to lead the very agency charged with ensuring every American is protected from discrimination.”

Abovethelaw.com first broke the story, citing an internal memo from Gore’s law firm, Jones Day. The Talking Points Memo also filed a more detailed story on Gore.