Ted Cruz photographed 'searching Twitter for his name' after dust-up at Jackson confirmation hearing

published 24 March 2022

After the second time Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tried to speak out of his allotted time on Wednesday's Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) possibly accused him of "jackassery" and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) sighed, "I know the junior senator from Texas likes to get on television, but most of us have been here a long time trying to follow the rules."

But Cruz appeared more interested, at the moment, at how his performance was playing on Twitter, according to a photographer and reporter for the Los Angeles Times.

Cruz's apparent Twitter mention-check came after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) banged his gavel when Cruz refused to stop talking two minutes past his allotted 20 minutes. "You can bang it as long as you want," Cruz snapped. "At some point you have to follow the rules," Durbin replied.

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"Jackson faced round after round of Republican attacks on Wednesday in questioning that may create video clips for potential Republican presidential candidates but didn't shed much new light on her judicial record," Politico reports.

"Some of the most combative rounds of questioning during the hearings came from the potential GOP presidential candidates, including Cruz, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton," The Associated Press reports. "All hit on issues that are popular with the GOP base, including attacks on critical race theory, the idea that racism is systemic in the nation's institutions." Jackson's "approval seems all but sure," probably before Easter, AP adds.

Democrats interspersed the GOP attacks with praise for Jackson, and no senator more than Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

Booker pep talk moves nominee Jackson to tears - YouTube

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At the end of 10 hours of hearings, Durbin said some of the Republicans on the committee were "just vicious in their attacks," without naming names. "There was a promise that they'd treat her with respect," he added. "Obviously, a couple of my colleagues didn't get the memo." You can watch Politico's roundup of key moments from Day 3 of the hearings below, and Cruz's made-for-TV (or Twitter) moments at the 7:30 mark.

Key moments from day 3 of the Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearing - YouTube

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.