Sen. Tez Cruz’s strange question to Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on the third day of her confirmation hearing on Wednesday has gone viral, with nearly 4 million views.
On February 25, US President Joe Biden nominated Jackson for the position, making her the first female nominee for the Supreme Court.
Image of President Joe Biden via White House Flickr/Public Domain
Cruz has been questioning the D.C. judge on critical race theory and how it developed at their Harvard Law School alma mater. Racism has existed in numerous institutions and systems throughout American history, including the justice and political systems, according to the thesis. Republican lawmakers, on the other hand, have attempted to broaden the definition of the phrase, using it to refer to any educational program that teaches about race and intersectionality.
Image of Ted Cruz via Flickr/Gage Skidmore is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Cruz also pressed Jackson to describe what it means to be a woman, bringing up transgender concerns.
Image of Ted Cruz via Flickr/Gage Skidmore is licensed with CC BY-ND 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
“Under the modern leftist sensibilities, if I decide right now that I’m a woman and apparently I’m a woman, does that mean that I would have article 3 standing to challenge a gender-based restriction?” Cruz asks Jackson in a video of the hearing that has gone viral.
Jackson claims that such matters are currently before the court and that she is unable to comment on them.
Image of Ketanji Brown Jackson via Youtube screengrab…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPb6-N-wtBM
Cruz continues: “If I can change my gender if I can be a woman and an hour later decide I’m not a woman anymore I guess I would lose article 3 standing? Tell me whether that same law applies to other protected characteristics?”
Image of Ted Cruz via Flickr/Gage Skidmore is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
“For example, I’m a Hispanic man, could I decide if I was an Asian man. Would I have the ability to be an Asian man and challenge Harvard’s discrimination because I made that decision?”
Jackson said she couldn’t comment on hypotheticals in response to Cruz’s query.
Image of Ketanji Brown Jackson via Youtube screengrab…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6U33Qj728E
Cruz was referring to a case before the Supreme Court asserting that affirmative action rules at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate Asian-Americans’ rights. Although the court has consistently approved such programs, its new right-wing supermajority is likely to be skeptical.
After testimony from outside witnesses, the sessions are slated to end on Thursday. After that, the committee will vote on the nominee, which is anticipated to pass. The vote will then be moved to the Senate. Democrats have a razor-thin 50-50 majority there, thanks to Kamala Harris’ ability to break a tie.
