Thread by @jbendery

Five more of Biden's nominees to lifetime federal court seats are getting their Senate confirmation hearing today.

Up first, Myrna Perez, Biden's pick for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.

She's a voting rights attorney and if confirmed, she'd be the only Latina on that court.

Just watched GOP Sen. John Kennedy do what he does all the time in these hearings:

Repeatedly interrupt a female nominee after asking her to answer a "simple" question that is not simple. And then complain and/or say he can't support her because she didn't answer his question.

This basically went on for 5 minutes:

Kennedy: Are you gonna use the Constitution to try to create new rights?

Perez: Senator, appellate court judges don't create new rights.

I'm gonna count the number of times Kennedy just interrupted Perez. In 5 minutes.

One sec.

Kennedy interrupted Perez 8 times in 5 minutes.

That's not including the times he didn't give her a chance to respond to his complaints, either.

This was Kennedy last month in another Judiciary hearing, with another one of Biden's judicial nominees. This one was male.

https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1407720895490240515?s=20

And Kennedy with another one of Biden's judicial nominees last month, Christine O'Hearn:

https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1407735429940527106?s=20

And then there was Kennedy interrupting Biden's appeals court pick Eunice Lee, over and over, as she tried to respond to his question about how to interpret the Constitution.

https://twitter.com/jbendery/status/1402650396368179202?s=20

GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn tells Perez "a lot of people in Tennessee" are unhappy about her nomination.

Because a nominee to a New York-based appeals court seat is clearly on the front of Tennesseans' minds.

Blackburn to Perez:

"I get this funny feeling that you're trying to hedge us, that you've rehearsed your answers, that you're spouting out what you think will not get you into trouble so that you can go through the confirmation process + do the happy dance and get on the court."

Imagine that. A nominee to a lifetime seat on a federal appeals court rehearsing their responses for their confirmation hearing and trying to say things that don't get them in trouble so they can get confirmed.

Very suspicious!

Gotta say, Republican senators in the Judiciary Committee are making it very clear they have problems with Perez's nomination and casting her as a "radical."

But Perez is holding her own very well.

Tom Cotton: If someone is convicted of murder, is it fair to call them a murderer?

Perez: Yes.

Cotton: If someone commits a felon, is it fair to call them a felon?

Perez: That is a bit different b/c there's a temporal issue and I think there's a raging policy debate on that.

Cotton: You've said in the past that you don't like to use the word "felon."

Perez: "I don't. I believe every person is a child of God capable of being redeemed and I never look at anybody and see the worst thing they've ever done."

Cotton: Ok... thanks.

Hearing is over.

Republicans didn't stick around for the 4 district court nominees. They saved their fire for Perez.

I don't think Tom Cotton knew what to say to that response about the word "felon."

Time is up, thank you!

My bad on saying Republicans didn't stick around for the district court nominees.

Two popped in: Grassley and Cotton.