In a bombshell statement, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) demolished a Biden-appointed judiciary nominee for forcing everyone in his courtroom to state their pronouns, which Kennedy described as oppressive, pushing back fiercely in a rant that later went viral online.
For context, during a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting on November 2, 2023, Sen. Kennedy slammed a Biden-appointed judiciary nominee, Mustafa T. Kasubhai, for asking litigants to say their preferred pronouns in court. Sen. Kennedy deemed the nominee unqualified to be on the federal bench based on his embrace of woke ideology.
In his statement, Sen. Kennedy denounced Judge Kasubhai’s conduct, all the while being charitable towards the judge’s personal beliefs. Kennedy said, “If you want to use different pronouns, that is your business. I may not agree, I may not do it, but that’s your business. This is America, and you’re free to do that.” Kennedy then pushed back, saying, “But this judge used his authority to require litigants in his courtroom to do what he thinks is politically correct.”
Continuing, Sen. Kennedy pointed out that Judge Kasubhai’s behavior in the position of magistrate judge would make him unfit to serve as a federal district judge, explaining, “He has no right as a sitting judge to direct in writing litigants in his courtroom to stand up and introduce themselves by saying, ‘My name is John Kennedy. My preferred pronouns are…'”
In addition, Sen. Kennedy elaborated by describing Judge Kasubhai’s woke conduct as “oppressive,” saying, “I’m a litigant in his courtroom paying a lawyer $400 an hour to try to get my case resolved, and the man on the bench who’s going to decide my case tells me to stand up and announce my pronouns. That’s not voluntary. That’s oppressive.”
Furthermore, Sen. Kennedy harkened back to past judicial nominations by President Trump that were shot down by the Senate Judiciary Committee, comparing those nominations to the situation with Judge Kasubhai. He said, “When President Trump nominated people who weren’t qualified to be on the federal bench, we killed those nominations.” Kennedy continued, “We did it here in the committee. We demonstrated they weren’t qualified. Now, here’s your chance.”
Elaborating, Sen. Kennedy pushed through attempted interruptions, reaffirming that he would contest any nomination of an unfit judge. Kennedy said, “When somebody’s qualified to be on the federal bench, by God, I will stand up. I don’t care what party they are.” He continued, “But from now on, if we’re going to play it like this, we’re going to have a debate on all of these nominees and talk about their testimony and committee and who was forthcoming and who wasn’t.”
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According to Congressional records, Judge Kusubhai went on to become the United States District Judge for the District of Oregon on January 8, 2024, after a yea-nay vote of 51-44. Additionally, a press release from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights confirmed that Kasubhai was the first Muslim lifetime judge on the District of Oregon.
Watch Sen. Kennedy’s statement:
Featured image credit: screenshot from the embedded video