Sen. Kennedy Defends Controversial Grilling of Biden Nominee, Attacks Senate Critic: Sen. Brown ‘Went Crackbrained’ and ‘I Told Him to Shut Up’

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) doubled down Friday on his line of questioning attacking Saule Omarova, President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Kennedy tried to tie the Soviet-born Omarova to communist youth groups in a contentious Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, which resulted in Senate Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) slamming the GOP’s attacks on Omarova as “Trumpism meets McCarthyism.”

“I don’t know whether to call you professor or comrade,” was one of Kennedy’s questions during the hearing, which stirred controversy and elicited comparisons to McCarthyism from Brown and others, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

“I’m not a communist,” Omarova hit back. “I do not subscribe to that ideology. I could not choose where I was born.”

A defiant Kennedy joined Fox News’ America’s Newsroom and said, “Well, I just think, it’s clear to me based on her current record … that the president has nominated a neosocialist.”

“I asked her if she had ever been a member of the communist party and it took me a couple of questions but she finally said yeah,” Kennedy continued, rehashing the events of the hearing. “And then Sherrod Brown went crackbrained on me and tried to stop me from asking questions and I told him to shut up.”

Kennedy continued:

“I just think the American people are entitled to know that the president has nominated somebody to regulate our banks who believes, as she said in getting rid of banks, and she has been a member of the communist party.”

America’s Newsroom anchor Bill Hemmer then concluded, “We’ll see if she survives.”