Dick Durbin thanks Ben Sasse for 'jackassery' remarks: 'There was great truth in what he said'
Thursday marks the fourth day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson — following one long day of opening remarks and two tense days of questioning — and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) opted to kick off the round of witness testimony with a few accolades.
First, Durbin recognized Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) as a "gentleman" with such a "high degree of integrity." He said he is a "lucky man" to get to work with the Iowa lawmaker throughout this process.
Durbin also thanked a "majority" of Republicans, the ones who handled themselves "professionally" and "in the best traditions of the United States Senate" — specifically mentioning Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who on Wednesday called out some of the behavior of his colleagues as nothing more than performative "jackassery" for the cameras.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I want to thank [Sasse] particularly, for a comment he made which has been quoted widely, in which he used the term 'jackassery,' which I had never heard before," Durbin said. "I thank him for that observation because I think there was great truth in what he said."
And for Democrats, the committee chair also gave a pat on the back to Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), who spent his time the day prior heralding Jackson with a pep talk that moved the nominee to tears.
"[I am] particularly proud of one member who spoke at the right moment," Durbin said. "My wife is my go-to critic in what's happening in my political life and on this committee. And she said, 'When Cory Booker spoke yesterday, it cleared the air finally.'"
"His statement will go down in the annals of this committee and the United States Senate for the impact that [it] had at the moment," he added.
Watch Booker's remarks below.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Nuuk becomes ground zero for Greenland’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
EU and India clinch trade pact amid US tariff warSpeed Read The agreement will slash tariffs on most goods over the next decade
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
