OPINION:
A couple of weeks ago, my cell phone rang just after car line for school pickup, and my 9-year-old son grabbed it and answered with a sizzling, “Whazzzzzzzuuuuuuuuu?”
It was Vanita Gupta on the line, the president’s nominee to be associate attorney general of the United States. I was horrified by my son’s greeting to such a distinguished colleague, but Vanita didn’t miss a beat and replied with her own, “Whazzzzzuuuuuuuuu?”
This is the real Vanita Gupta, the kind, empathetic and totally unpretentious mom from Philly set to be the No. 3 senior official at the Department of Justice, once the Senate confirms her.
And I, a born and raised Kentucky Republican, urge the Senate to do just that.
Vanita is not a household name. She’s not a firebrand talking head on TV, and though she is a Yale-educated, celebrated civil-rights attorney, most of her work is done quietly within broad coalitions. You may have seen her on the news recently, dignified under pressure during her confirmation hearing. Or maybe you caught a smear ad accusing her of the ruination of mankind.
My wish is that America could know more about the real Vanita, a woman of faith raised by two immigrant parents who came to this country with nothing and worked their way into the American dream. The real Vanita has a smile and kind word for anyone, regardless of background or political ideology, willing to help struggling and disadvantaged people in this country. The real Vanita looks beyond what divides, and actively seeks out ways to relate and unite.
I knew of Vanita through her work at the Department of Justice, but became friends with her through her advocacy at the helm of the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, one of the original members of the flagship bipartisan coalition working to pass prison and sentencing reform legislation at the federal level. Vanita was committed to ensuring sentencing reform was part of the final bill President Trump signed into law in 2018, and she regularly strategized with me and other conservatives committed to the cause, such as Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform and Mark Holden of Koch Industries.
We didn’t schedule our calls, as most Beltway insiders would. Instead, we texted updates to each other, and randomly called in the middle of the day with ideas, concerns, or just to vent frustrations, often while sitting in the school car line or violating the rules of the quiet car on the train. We spoke candidly and sometimes even debated, but no question was dumb, and no idea was dismissed.
While it was my job to build trust with her, Vanita made it easy for me, often praising Republicans such as then-Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, whom she called one of the “godfathers of the criminal justice reform movement,” and Sen. Mike Lee, a zealous advocate for sentencing reform.
The First Step Act, driven by bipartisan partnerships between Sens. Grassley and Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat, and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, and Doug Collins, Georgia Republican, was the first big federal achievement for our coalition, but it would not be the last. Vanita also worked tirelessly to pass the Fair Chance Act, sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker, New Jersey Democrat, and Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican. This legislation, passed in 2019 as part of a national defense spending bill, opened up federal employment to people with criminal records, a full third of the adults in this country.
Vanita’s ability to unify diverse voices for a common cause is underscored by the respected leaders endorsing her nomination, such as our conservative friends Grover and Mark, along with law enforcement leaders at the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, Larry Thompson, former deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Major County Sheriffs of America and a bipartisan group of 76 former U.S. attorneys.
If this country is to have a functional government that works for the people, we must have leaders willing to talk, and listen, to those with different ideas, perspectives and opinions
The real Vanita Gupta is exactly the person America needs at exactly the right time, able to find common ground with anyone, from the most serious advocates to the silliest 9-year-old little boy.
I urge our friends on both sides of the aisle in the United States Senate to confirm her.
• Holly Harris is president and executive director of the Justice Action Network, and the former finance chair and general counsel to the Republican Party of Kentucky.
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