“Empathy and respect” are not the first words that come to mind when discussing the former Office of Civil Rights head who gutted due process rights for the accused.

But former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan uses these words to describe Catherine Lhamon. In an op-ed for the Hill, Duncan gave an emphatic endorsement for Lhamon’s nomination, saying she was “one of the most dedicated civil rights leaders in the nation.” After lambasting the “brutal four years of Donald Trump,” Duncan also said of Lhamon: