©2025 League of Conservation Voters
Issues
The Senate considered President Trump’s nomination of Neomi Rao to be a U.S. Circuit Court judge for the D.C. Circuit. Circuit courts are often the ultimate arbiters of highly significant cases, including those involving environmental protections, and it is critical that the judges confirmed to serve lifetime appointments on these courts are qualified, non-partisan, and committed to treating parties fairly. As administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), Rao led efforts to roll back fundamental environmental protections and misuse the regulatory review process for partisan political purposes. Rao spent the past 20 years arguing against environmental and other public protections, disparaging efforts to keep our air and water clean as unnecessary burdens on corporate freedom, and even referring to the greenhouse effect as a “controversial theory.” Her long record on this issue, as well as her offensive and demeaning writings on sexual assault, race, and LGBTQ rights made it clear that she is incapable of serving fairly as a federal judge. On March 13, the Senate confirmed Rao to the D.C. Circuit by a vote of 53-46 (Senate roll call vote 44). NO IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE.
©2025 League of Conservation Voters