On December 11, 2017, President Trump transmitted to the Senate the nomination of Chai R. Feldblum for reappointment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), for a five-year term that would not expire until 2023.
The EEOC, the agency charged with enforcement of federal non-discrimination laws, is required to have bipartisan balance among its five members. One media report has suggested that the reappointment of Feldblum, a Democrat, could be part of a deal with Sen. Chuck Schumer to achieve quick action on one or two Republican appointees to the Commission.
However, Feldblum's record, both before and after her appointment to the EEOC, is an extreme one, and the Trump administration could surely have found a less radical choice to occupy a Democratic seat.
Feldblum has publically advocated that sex discrimination in current law should be redefined to include sexual orientation and gender identity. She also believes that religious liberty exemptions should be extremely narrow.
