Watch GOP Sen. Ben Sasse turn the Kavanaugh hearing into Schoolhouse Rock!
Warring senators and jeering protesters took over the first hours of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing Tuesday. But they shouldn't think chanting outside the Supreme Court or in this hearing will actually change anything, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) explained in his opening statement turned "Schoolhouse Rock! civics lesson."
In his remarks, Sasse called on legislators to actually make laws instead of leaving lawmaking to the "alphabet soup" of bureaucratic institutions and Supreme Court "superlegislators." Kavanaugh has faced protests over his perceived stances on reproductive rights and environmental protection since he was nominated, but this "hysteria" has nothing to with Kavanaugh and everything to do with politicizing the judiciary, Sasse said:
Judicial nominees aren't politicians who "wear red or blue jerseys," Sasse argued. And if they did, he said he'd welcome legislation to ban lifetime appointments. The senator instead said that Congress has opted to "self-neuter" by shoving politics off to the judiciary, executive branch, and regulatory commissions. To fix the problem, Sasse said lawmakers should actually start making laws instead of pushing their jobs — and the blame — on everyone else.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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