Sen. Mazie Hirono gave a resounding response when casting her vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
“Hell no,” the Democratic Hawaii senator said Monday night while pointing her thumbs down.
The vote did not affect Barrett being confirmed to the court, and she was sworn in later that night.
Stay classy, Mazie Hirono … pic.twitter.com/ViobYBWNBb
— Scott Morefield (@SKMorefield) October 27, 2020
“Over the past few weeks, the entire world has seen Justice Barrett’s deep knowledge, tremendous poise, and towering intellect. She answered questions for hours on end,” President Trump said Monday.
“Throughout her entire confirmation, her impeccable credentials were unquestioned, unchallenged, and obvious to all. Justice Barrett earned a full academic scholarship to Notre Dame Law School, graduated first in her class, and served as a clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia. She was a beloved professor at Notre Dame Law School for 15 years before I very proudly appointed her to the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in 2017. The American people have been profoundly impressed to learn of her achievements, her compassion, her generosity, her faith, and her sterling character,” Trump added.
During Barrett’s confirmation hearings earlier this month, Hirono faced backlash for asking if Barrett ever “made unwanted requests for sexual favors, or committed any physical or verbal harassment or assault of a sexual nature?”
Barrett answered that she hadn’t.
Hirono also condemned and corrected Barrett during the hearings for using the phrase “sexual preference.”
“Let me make clear, ‘sexual preference’ is an offensive and outdated term,” Hirono said. “It is used by the anti-LGBTQ activists to suggest that sexual orientation is a choice. It is not. Sexual orientation is a key part of a person’s identity … So if it is your view that sexual orientation is merely a ‘preference,’ as you noted, then the LGBTQ community should be rightly concerned whether you will uphold their constitutional right to marry.”
