‘Do You Believe in God?’ Senator John Kennedy Hectors Biden DOJ Nominee Over Religious Beliefs
“Do you believe in God?”
Not a question typically asked in a Department of Justice confirmation hearing, particularly given the long-standing Congressional tradition of observing the Constitutional separation of church and state, but that didn’t keep Senator John Kennedy from hectoring nominee Hampton Dellinger over his religious beliefs.
Dellinger is the former North Carolina deputy attorney general and chief legal counsel for the state’s governor, Mike Easley who, according to Law.com, “if confirmed will advise DOJ leadership on policy matters and help vet judicial candidates—touted his fact-based approach to matters of law and policy and his ability to work across the aisle.
Despite Dellinger’s future role to encourage bipartisanship, Senator Kennedy remains unconvinced, evidenced by his bringing up a tweet from 2019 in which the DOJ nominee wrote about abortion — stating there were some Republican women and a handful of Democrats who want government, not women, “to control women’s bodies. But if there were no Republican men in elected office, there would be no abortion bans,’” Kennedy said, quoting from the tweet.
Kennedy then claimed the tweet suggested that anti-abortion Republicans only hold that stance because they are “misogynistic.”
“Do you believe in God?” Kennedy asked. “Did it ever occur to you that some people may base their position on abortion on their faith?”
Dellinger replied “I sincerely appreciate that people have a different position on abortion than I do,” adding, “I recognize the difference between someone saying something inartfully as a private citizen and working as a lawyer, and I think I’ve got a 30-year track record of being open-minded.”
Senator Kennedy makes frequent appearances on cable news where he is known for his homespun folksiness, even though he studied at Oxford University and has been mocked for his past support of 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry.
Mediaite has reached out to Sen. Kennedy’s office for comment and will update accordingly if a response is forthcoming.
Watch above via Mark Joseph Stern
