Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, reportedly cast doubt on President Joe Biden’s not-yet-announced Supreme Court nominee after the president last week reaffirmed his commitment to pick a Black woman for the spot.
“No. 1, I want a nominee who knows a law book from a J. Crew catalog,” the Louisiana senator said Tuesday, according to Politico Playbook. “No. 2, I want a nominee who’s not going to try to rewrite the Constitution every other Thursday to try to advance a ‘woke agenda.’”
Biden promised during his campaign that, if given the opportunity, he would select a Black female judge to sit on the Supreme Court to help reflect the diversity of the nation. After months of speculation, Justice Stephen Breyer formally announced his retirement last week, paving the way for the president to nominate his replacement.
Kennedy made his comments on the president’s eventual pick while exiting a Republican senators’ lunch, according to Politico.
His criticism comes after Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) dismissed whoever becomes Biden’s nominee as a “beneficiary” of affirmative action.
The “law book from a catalog” phrasing appears to be a favorite of Kennedy’s — the senator has made nearly identical comments in the past. In 2019, he swapped out the retailer in a tweet about border security: “Anybody who knows an L.L. Bean catalog from a law book knows, ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court will give us guidance on this.”
In Kennedy’s telling, “anyone who knows a law book from a J. Crew catalog” knows that President Donald Trump’s first impeachment charges were not to be taken seriously, that the Roe v. Wade decision was “arbitrary” and “poorly reasoned,” and that live witnesses are more powerful than a transcript.
Republicans in the Senate are not expected to support Biden’s nominee but appear to be undecided on how forcefully they will mount opposition. Biden’s pick will not likely sway the ideological balance of the court, which leans strongly conservative.
“I think some members of leadership think they can control what people want to talk about,” Kennedy added on Tuesday. “I don’t agree with that proposition. I’m going to talk about what I want to talk about, and if they don’t like that, they can call somebody who cares.”
Although Democrats maintain a slim Senate majority, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as a tiebreaker, the process of swiftly confirming Biden’s Supreme Court nominee could be complicated by one member’s health problems. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) suffered a stroke and is recovering from brain surgery, his office said Tuesday. In his absence, Democrats have only 49 members of their caucus, compared to Republicans’ 50.