A Biden judicial nominee is left embarrassing the Democratic Party after struggling to answer a simple constitutional question.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La) put the spotlight on just how little the Biden Administration knows what they're doing during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Judge Ana de Alba, who currently serves on a California federal district court and is nominated to serve on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, stumbled over her words after Kennedy asked her to define the Dormant Clause and Commerce Clause under Article 1 of the Constitution.
“I’m somewhat familiar with the Commerce Clause, which is found in Article 1 of the Constitution," de Alba said.
"There was a big Supreme Court case that just came out of your state," Kennedy interjected. “This has been in the news a lot lately.”
"And I apologize, Senator. You know, in my 11 years of practice and five years on the bench, I have not dealt with the Dormant Commerce Clause. But if I am so fortunate enough to be confirmed and have to deal with it in the future, I would certainly …” de Alba began before Kennedy interrupted again.
“You'll look it up?" Kennedy questioned.
"Research it and, yeah, be prepared," de Alba replied.
The Supreme Court case the Republican senator was referring to involved California's Proposition 12, a state law that states pork products imported into the state had to meet specific welfare standards.
This is not the first time Kennedy left a Biden nominee speechless.
In March, Judge Kato Crews refused to answer a question on the Brady motion, a basic legal concept.
Kennedy pressed Crews for an answer, however all she could say was that the term was "not coming to mind.”
Journalist Mark Hyman compared Crews inability to answer the question was "akin to a surgeon not knowing what a scalpel is."
Brady Motion is a fundamental concept that is usually mentioned before the first day of class for an overview of the judicial system in law school— which comes from the Brady v. Maryland Supreme Court decision in 1963, which stated the prosecution must hand over potentially favorable evidence to the defense.
Biden surely knows how to pick them. Maybe he thinks that if he nominates unqualified people, they will make him look like he is actually supposed to be serving as the U.S. president.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member