Murray: Trump Hire Sends Concerning Signal for Existing Campus Sexual Assault Guidance

U.S. Department of Education announced hiring today of critic of current efforts to combat campus sexual assault, supports high burden of proof for survivors

Murray: “If there was ever a President who needed to take issues of sexual assault more seriously, it’s President Trump—and this is yet another indication his Administration is falling disturbingly short”

(Washington, D.C.) –Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on reports that the U.S. Department of Education hired Adam Kissel, a critic of current efforts to strengthen protections for survivors of campus sexual assault, as deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs. Kissel has previously stated he supports a higher burden of proof for survivors of sexual violence on college campuses, and worked for an organization that supported legal challenges against the Department’s guidance on campus sexual assault. 

“I am deeply troubled this hire is another concerning sign that President Trump plans to make it more difficult for survivors of campus sexual violence to get justice. Campus sexual violence is an urgent public health threat nationwide, and rolling back steps that have empowered more survivors of sexual violence to come forward will only send this problem back into the shadows. If there was ever a President who needed to take issues of sexual assault more seriously, it’s President Trump—and this is yet another indication his Administration is falling disturbingly short.”