With a congressional hearing on the horizon, more than 70 civil rights organizations sent a letter to lawmakers Thursday urging them to oppose President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Trump nominated Jones Day partner Eric Dreiband as assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division in June, and a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is set for Sept. 6. Leading the effort behind the letter is the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, whose president, Vanita Gupta, served as head of the division under President Barack Obama. She left the department in January.

In the letter, groups including the National Bar Association, Lambda Legal and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wrote Dreiband's record shows he's “ill-equipped” to serve in the position. At Jones Day, Dreiband represented companies in discrimination, whistleblower, and wage-and-hour litigation.

“While a lawyer is not responsible for the conduct of his or her clients, Mr. Dreiband has been devoted to limiting the rights and remedies of discrimination victims not only in the courtroom, but also in the congressional hearing room and through his personal writings,” the letter said.

A Jones Day spokeswoman said Dreiband was unavailable to comment. Don Livingston, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld who served as general counsel of the EEOC under George H.W. Bush, said the criticism from those who don't know Dreiband is unfounded.

“Most likely, people who are opposing his nomination don't know him,” Livingston said. “When you look at the people who do know him, you get a different picture.”