Trump administration to probe affirmative action for misdeeds
The Trump administration is planning to investigate the use of affirmative action by universities to discriminate against white applicants, according to a published report.
The Justice Department’s civil rights division is seeking attorneys to work on “investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in colleges and university admissions,” according to a document obtained by The New York Times.
The newspaper noted that the document doesn’t explicitly target discrimination against whites, but adds that the wording suggests it is aimed at programs designed to boost minorities on campuses.
A DOJ spokesman declined to comment on the internal document.
Meanwhile, the Senate overwhelmingly confirmed Christopher A. Wray to lead the FBI, replacing James B. Comey, who was abruptly fired by President Trump amid the investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election.
Yesterday’s vote was 92-5 for Wray, a former high-ranking official in President George W. Bush’s Justice Department who oversaw investigations into corporate fraud. Wray, 50, inherits the FBI at a particularly challenging time given Trump’s ousting of Comey, who was admired within the bureau.
“This is a tough time to take this tough job,” U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said during a relatively low-key Senate debate of the nomination.
Republican U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska said after the vote, “Chris Wray will bring character and competence to a city that is hemorrhaging public trust.”
Wray won unanimous support from the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, with Republicans and Democrats praising his promise never to let politics get in the way of the bureau’s mission.
Also yesterday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he’s comfortable in his job and in his relationship with the commander in chief.
“We have a good relationship,” Tillerson said. “I talk to him just about every day, I see him several times a week, he calls me late at night, on the weekends when something comes into his head and he wants to talk. He may call me at any moment, at any time.”
Speaking to reporters at a nearly hourlong news conference at the State Department, Tillerson sought to dispel speculation that he is frustrated and looking for a way out. He said he and Trump have had policy disagreements, notably over the Iran nuclear deal, which the president opposes.