National ACE Congratulates Vanita Gupta on her Nomination for Associate Attorney General

January 8, 2021

National ACE commends President-elect Biden for his nomination of Vanita Gupta for Associate Attorney General. Ms. Gupta currently serves as President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. As the former Acting Assistant Attorney General for civil rights, Ms. Gupta led critical efforts to reform our criminal justice system, including investigating the Ferguson, Baltimore, and Chicago police departments; prosecuting hate crimes; protecting disability and LGBTQ+ rights; defending voting rights; fighting human trafficking; and eliminating discrimination in education, housing, lending, and employment.

Prior to her time in the Justice Department, Ms. Gupta was a staff attorney at the ACLU, ultimately becoming the Deputy Legal Director and the Director of the Center for Justice. While at the ACLU, Ms. Gupta led the Smart Justice Campaign aimed at ending mass incarceration. She started her legal career as an attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, where she successfully led the effort to overturn the wrongful drug convictions of 38 individuals in Tulia, Texas, who were ultimately pardoned by then-Governor Rick Perry. 

National ACE applauds the Biden-Harris Administration for ensuring that our government leaders represent the diverse makeup of our great country. We encourage President-elect Biden to continue to nominate highly qualified Asian American and Pacific Islanders to key roles in the Administration.

As the Indian American daughter of immigrants, Ms. Gupta would be the first woman of color to serve in this role and the highest-ranking Indian American in the Justice Department.  Having spent her career fighting for greater equity in our justice system and protecting and advancing the civil rights of all Americans, Ms. Gupta is more than qualified to take on this new role. We congratulate Vanita Gupta on her historic nomination.