Summary

Steven Bradbury is the nominee for General Counsel at the Department of Transportation. During his tenure with the Bush Administration, he infamously wrote three memos justifying the use of torture as an interrogation technique, a position which has since been rejected by Congress and the Supreme Court. Whether you care about transportation, civil rights, the environment, or something else, Bradbury will likely poised to make a decision on that issue. Contact your Senators to oppose Bradbury, whose lack of judgment and moral character are antithetical to everything we stand for.

Steven Gill Bradbury has been nominated for the position of General Counsel at the Department of Transportation. The position is the Department's primary legal advisor and has final authority on any questions of law arising at the Department. Bradbury served in several top positions at the Department of Justice from 2004-2009, heading the Office of Legal Counsel during George W. Bush's second term.

During that tenure, he is most famous for writing three memos justifying the use of torture as an interrogation technique. In these memos, he argues that waterboarding, sleep deprivation, dietary manipulation, cramped confinement, and others are legally-defensible torture techniques. His so-called judgment (the most important qualification for the office he seeks) put American lives at risk and was inconsistent with international law—as the Supreme Court later ruled—and basic morality. Veteran and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said it best:

"When you're stuck bleeding in a helicopter behind enemy lines like I was, you hope and pray that if the enemy finds you first, they treat you humanely… Mr. Bradbury lacked moral conviction in the Bush White House, and I don't think he can be trusted to stand up for the values I fought to defend, especially not in a Trump presidency."

The role of General Counsel of the Department is to engage with the very hardest issues and make a justified legal recommendation. Bradbury's defended his past recommendations by stating "If I had my druthers, I wouldn't have then engaged in having to address those issues." In other words, he did not want to make a tough decision. And when he did "address those issues," he chose to allow an illegal and unconstitutional torture program to go forward. His actions and post-hoc justifications show his cowardliness, inability to lead, and fear of the very position for which he is nominated.

Bradbury has little transportation experience, but the experience he does have is as the mouthpiece for industry. He served as counsel to American Airlines, DHL Express, and most controversially, Takata Corporation, a now-bankrupt company whose faulty airbags killed or injured over 100 people and led to an enormous and ongoing recall. Although Bradbury has pledged to recuse himself from Takata-related issues, his only relevant transportation experience is as an industry advocate, not an advocate for the American people. How would he view the Volkswagen emissions scandal or a future recall? This is a risk we as the American people cannot afford.

Whether you are concerned about transportation, veteran's issues, civil rights, labor, or the environment, Bradbury will likely be placed in position to make decisions on that topic in his proposed role at the Department of Transportation. We have an obligation to oppose someone whose lack of judgment and moral character are antithetical to everything we stand for.

Contact your Senators to oppose Bradbury's nomination and share this information with your networks. Find their contact info here: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/