NATION : Panel OKs Thomas Bid for Judge
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved the nomination of Clarence Thomas, the conservative chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to be a federal appeals court judge.
The nomination was approved 12 to 1 with Sen. Howard M. Metzenbaum (D-Ohio) voting against it. It now goes to the full Senate.
Some civil rights forces had opposed the nomination because of Thomas’ opposition to affirmative action programs and his other conservative views. But the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People announced two weeks ago that it would not stand in the way of confirmation.
Thomas, one of the most visible blacks in the Republican Administrations of former President Ronald Reagan and President Bush, was nominated to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia.
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