Contrary to what some of his critics say, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) is not a mean guy. He's just someone who, refreshingly, prefers to speak in plain language and call things as he sees them - in his own unique and politely Southern way.
He is often, as it turns out, more right than wrong.
Take, for instance, federal judge Nancy Maldonado, who is Joe Biden's Seventh Circuit Court nominee. Kennedy questioned her during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday regarding court documents she previously signed off on where the term "assault weapons" was used. When she was repeatedly asked by Kennedy to explain what she meant by "assault weapons," she... couldn't.
There was also Democrat "climate expert" witness Gus Schumacher, a 23-year-old cross-country skier whose credibility Kennedy destroyed after doing a little poking and prodding into his background and previous statements.
WATCH: In Which Sen. John Kennedy Expertly Destroys the Credibility of Woke Climate 'Expert' Witness
Kennedy takes his job very seriously, especially his role on the Judiciary Committee. So much so that after repeated cries of "Islamophobia" by Democrat committee members regarding the stalled nomination of Adeel Abdullah Mangi, Kennedy took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to skewer them.
Mangi, as we've previously reported, was nominated by Joe Biden in November to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and was then renominated in early January after a contentious round of questioning in December.
As the Washington Free Beacon documented in December, Mangi's troubling connections to leftist hate groups have prompted Republican Judiciary Committee members to raise questions about them.
One of those connections is to the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ), which is sympathetic to cop killers like Mumia Abu Jamal. Mangi is an advisory board member for the AFJ. Another is to Rutgers Law School’s Center for Race, Security, and Rights, which hates Israel and is antisemitic. Mangi was an advisory board member for them as well until 2023.
It is the questions put forth by Senators like Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Kennedy that prompted Sen. Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) to proclaim without evidence that they were unfairly judging Mangi because he was a Muslim-American.
Kennedy responded to the attacks from Durbin and other Democrats in a floor speech Friday, reminding them that it's their job to review and analyze all information given to them about judicial nominees, especially those positions that are lifetime appointments, and that the Woke Olympics have no place in these matters:
"Some people, when they're losing an argument, they tend to rely on epithets, you know? 'You're a racist, or you're a sexist, or you're a misogynist, or you're a Nazi, or you're a bigot.' Or in this case, 'you're Islamophobic.'
And some members of this body have made that suggestion, they've suggested that all the people who are opposing Mr. Mangi's nomination based on the facts that I just tried to describe as fairly as I could - some Senators have suggested that asking Mr. Mangi questions about his involvement with these organizations is ‘Islamophobic.’
One of my colleagues, which again is his right, came down to the Senate floor and said that certain Republican members of the committee, quote, believed that he, referring to Mr. Mangi, must be a terrorist because he’s a Muslim.
Wow. That got my attention. That’s not true. I believe that Mr. Mangi is not qualified to be a federal judge because he supports organizations that celebrate people who kill law enforcement officers. He supports organizations that hate Americans, and he supports organizations that hate Jews.
When President Biden has nominated quality people, qualified people, to serve on the federal bench, I’ve supported them regardless of their race, regardless of their gender, regardless of their religion.
I confess to asking tough questions in committee, that's my job. When you're put on the federal bench, you're there for life. For life. You're unelected and you're there for life, and you have the full power of the United States of America, the most powerful country in all of human history, behind you. So you better get it right."
And by "you better get it right," Kennedy undoubtedly was talking not just about the nominees but also the person who puts them in those positions - Joe Biden - and the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee who are tasked with being Biden's mouthpiece when it comes to said nominees.
Watch:
Adeel Mangi is not qualified to be a federal judge because he supports organizations that celebrate people who kill law enforcement officers, hate Americans, and hate Jews.
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) March 22, 2024
It’s not Islamophobic to recognize that. It’s our job. pic.twitter.com/sQkUBte1io
'Nuff said.
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