Grassley, Hagerty Call Out the Federal Judiciary’s Use of Taxpayer Dollars on Gender, Climate Initiatives

BULTER COUNTY, IOWA – U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) are pressing the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO) for answers regarding federal courts’ use of taxpayer dollars to take sides on “hotly debated and divisive political issues.”

Specifically, Grassley and Hagerty raised the following concerns:

• The AO is requesting federal court employees and judges disclose their race and “gender identity values” as part of an internal survey, including asking respondents whether they are “Non-Binary.”
• The AO promoted “LGBTQ+ Pride Month Celebration Resources” on its intranet, including a virtual event sponsored by the AO.
• The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held a “LGBTQ+” event in a taxpayer-funded federal courthouse, featuring a transgender attorney and activist as the keynote speaker. This same activist led the effort in New Jersey to allow biological male inmates in female prisons and served on the board of an organization that promoted “LGBT-inclusive lesson plans for second graders.”
• The Federal Judicial Center (FJC) published, and subsequently withdrew, a 91-page “Reference Guide on Climate Science,” which was reportedly lifted from the work of an attorney known for pushing climate-related lawsuits.

“We are deeply concerned with these recent actions taken by the federal judiciary. Not only do they appear to be a poor use of taxpayer resources; they are also highly divisive and undermine the American people’s faith in the judiciary to resolve their legal disputes absent ideological biases. The American people deserve to know that the taxpayer dollars they have entrusted to the federal judiciary are being used to administer justice, not to advance a political agenda,” the senators wrote.

Grassley and Hagerty chair the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, respectively. The committees have legislative, oversight and funding jurisdiction over the federal courts.

Read the full letter HERE.

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