The Senate Judiciary Committee for the first time will have Republican women serve on the panel, a new report says.
According to a roster and a Capitol Hill source, Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, are slated to serve on the committee, Politico reports. Although four women from the Democratic party have previously served on the panel, no Republican women have yet.
The committee appointments are not set in stone yet though, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Politico.
The move comes after the committee came under scrutiny last fall during the confirmation proceedings for now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual misconduct. Committee Republicans hired a female attorney to help question Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, initially said last year that being on the committee was “a lot of work” and maybe women weren’t interested in joining the panel, but he later apologized.
“Everyone knows Republicans need women on Judiciary,” said Marilyn Musgrave, the vice president of anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List. “It will take away the critics asking, ‘Where are the women?’”
