Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) wants to know: If President Joe Biden is so committed to appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court, then why hasn’t he supported every Black judicial nominee ever, hmmmm?
As he was speaking to reporters on the Hill on Tuesday, Hawley accused Biden of just chasing after what’s “politically advantageous” by promising to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer with a Black female justice — which would be a first for the high court.
“He opposed the historic nominations of African-Americans to the bench,” Hawley said. “Clarence Thomas. Janice Rogers Brown.”
Brown was a Black female judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit who was nominated by former President George W. Bush, and whose confirmation Biden voted against twice when he served as senator in 2003 and 2005.
The Missouri senator trotted out the same talking point during a Fox News appearance last week, claiming that Biden, who as Senate Judiciary Committee chair oversaw Thomas’ confirmation process in 1991, “didn’t hesitate to lead the mob” against the then-nominee.
It’s not exactly a mystery why center-left Biden was opposed to confirming two conservative-libertarian judicial nominees.
Hawley’s latest false equivalence falls in line with some of his fellow Republicans’ racist narrative: that Biden is eschewing qualified SCOTUS candidates in favor of tapping literally any Black woman, no matter how incompetent, to the bench. Despite the nominee not even existing yet, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) declared last week that whomever Biden picks would be a “beneficiary” of affirmative action.
In reality, Biden made it clear in his announcement that his appointee would be a Black woman in addition to having “extraordinary qualifications.”
TPM reporter Kate Riga contributed to this story.
Shorter Hawley:
Personal note: I think the problem with Hawley’s statement is that it shows he believes that #1 is true.
dude went to law school? graduated? passed the bar? obviously failed logical reasoning…
Hawley is the insufferable pseudo-inelligent guy always convinced that he is the smartest person in the room. Definitely the byproduct of smug narcissism polished by elite Ivy League institutions, which he will denigrate to be one of the fascist Proud-children mob (“Don’t worry, I’m right behind you.”) when appropriate.
Related:
As the brow furrows spasmodically.
Isn’t she concerned that she’s exposing herself. Collins is a fucking fraud!
Dear Sen. Hitler Youth,
The President’s remarks included the following:
"The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity"
Not every person fits that mold (as for proof, Justice Thomas; I could go on).
Fuck you. Strong letter to follow.