Hawley Has An Issue With Rao — But Not The Same One As Some Of His Peers

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 05: Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. circuit judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies during a Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Fe... WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 05: Neomi Rao, President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. circuit judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies during a Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on February 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. Rao would fill the seat left vacant by Brett Kavanaugh after Kavanaugh joined the Supreme Court. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Neomi Rao has been at the center of a contentious confirmation process, her past writings on date rape and women’s rights coming back to haunt her in a significant way as lawmakers hesitate to promise their support.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has an issue with Rao too, but for a different reason: whispers that she is personally pro-choice.

According to a Sunday Axios report, Hawley told Axios that he is “only going to support nominees who have a strong record on life.” A source close to Rao confirmed to Hawley that Rao was pro-choice, a suspicion he first feared when reading through her academic documents.

Rao can’t afford to lose much more Republican support.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), a sexual assault survivor, has already expressed hesitancy on confirming Rao due to her writings blaming rape victims for the crime. Rao apologized for those thoughts during her confirmation hearing.

In addition, per Axios, another Republican senator reached out to express his or her concerns about Rao’s abortion stance when word of the story spread.

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Notable Replies

  1. I guess she can always say that she believes that raped women were asking for it, and should be forced to take their pregnancy to term. That would probably satisfy all GOP senators (Even Ernst, unhappy about the rape part, but loving the “pro-life” part) as well as red state democrats. Easy peasy lemon squeezy…

  2. So Josh did you question her on her views of religious organizations being allowed tax payer’s money to improve and benefit their own property while maintaining their tax exemption status? Or will you support her sincerely religious beliefs that a woman has a right to choose over your own religiously held beliefs that a woman holds no such right?

  3. Oh goodie…now Congress will refuse to ‘confirm’ based on a whisper campaign not backed up by facts?

  4. Hey there little missy/mister facts are what Republican deem them to be, evidence not with standing.

  5. She may be personally pro-choice, but she’s willing to turn her back on her principles with nary a thought.

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