Vanita Gupta, President Biden’s nominee for the number three position in the Department of Justice, apologized for her past “harsh rhetoric” on Tuesday, as House Republicans gave her a cold reception over her legal work and advocacy on civil rights, informed The Hill.
Gupta, who was nominated for associate attorney general, was attacked at her confirmation hearing by republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, trying to present her as an extremist, although she got the support from many conservative figures as well as police unions.
She pointed out to her efforts for bringing together ideological rivals when she runned the DOJ’s civil rights division under Obama’s administration, and apologized for some of her comments made during the Trump mandate.
“I regret the harsh rhetoric I have used at times in the last several years. I think perhaps the rhetoric has gotten harsh over the past several years and I have fallen prey to it. I wish I could take it back. I can’t but what I can commit to you and ask that you do is look at my lifelong record. I have, from early on in my career sought out people who don’t always think like me, people who have very different views, because I believe in the importance of consensus to get things done,” said Gupta to the committee.
She defended from Republicans’ accusations that she has advocated for defunding the police, saying that she is aware of the difficulties that law enforcement officers are facing.
“I don’t support defunding the police. I have, in fact, spent my career advocating where it’s been necessary for greater resources for law enforcement and things like body-worn cameras and officers wellness and safety programs and any number of programs,” said Gupta.
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