- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Pres. Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, “Could I decide I was an Asian man?” as part of his line of questioning regarding an upcoming Supreme Court case regarding affirmative action in college admissions.
- The questions were a part of hypotheticals Cruz asked, including if Jackson could define what a woman was and if they were a protected class under Article III of the Constitution.
- Reaction from those on Twitter was quick, with many roasting Cruz’s question to Jackson.
- Judge Jackson declared she would recuse herself from the upcoming Supreme Court Harvard University affirmative action case if nominated.
The confirmation hearing for Pres. Biden’s Supreme Court nominee judge Ketanji Brown Jackson went viral Wednesday when Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked Jackson a series of hypothetical questions, most notably “Could I decide I was an Asian man?”
Sen. Cruz’s questioning originated from his challenge to Jackson to define what a woman is, referring back to a question Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) asked Jackson the day before: “Can you provide a definition for the word ’woman’? Jackson answered Sen. Blackburn with “Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.”
Pressing Jackson for a sense of her interpretations of law, Cruz asked “Under the modern leftist sensibilities, if I decide right now that I’m a woman and apparently I’m a woman, does that mean that I would have Article 3 standing to challenge a gender-based restriction?” Jackson replied that since those issues are currently going through the courts, she could not comment.
Cruz continued his questioning by asking, “If I can change my gender, if I can be a woman and an hour later decide I’m not a woman anymore I guess I would lose Article 3 standing? Tell me whether that same law applies to other protected characteristics?”
“For example, I’m a Hispanic man, could I decide if I was an Asian man? Would I have the ability to be an Asian man and challenge Harvard’s discrimination because I made that decision?”
Jackson responded that she could not answer hypotheticals. Even though Jackson could not reply to Cruz’s hypothetical, it didn’t stop Twitter users from immediately weighing in on the senator’s question.
“The Daily Show”’s Twitter page replied with a caption that read: “Imagine going to a job interview and the person interviewing you asks if he can be Asian.”
Imagine going to a job interview and the person interviewing you asks if he can be Asian https://t.co/tgMXYqaeRs
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 23, 2022
Los Angeles Times and USA Today contributor Kurt Bardella tweeted: “…speaking as an Asian man…go f*ck yourself!
Hey @tedcruz … speaking as an Asian man … go fuck yourself! https://t.co/Mo1mU2JlxS
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) March 23, 2022
Epidemiologist & health economist Dr. Eric Fiegl-Ding tweeted: “As an Asian man, i would first like to ask how Ted Cruz decided to vacation Cancun like a *coward man* while millions of his Texas constituents were freezing in the cold without power. Can you first try not be Dereliction-of-Duty-Senator-man first? Thanks.”
As an Asian man, i would first like to ask how Ted Cruz decided to vacation Cancun like a *coward man* while millions of his Texas constituents were freezing in the cold without power. Can you first try not be Dereliction-of-Duty-Senator-man first? Thanks. pic.twitter.com/Q68Qhu0SXO
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) March 23, 2022
User @Goss30Goss replied with, “Ted Cruz can identify as an Asian man if he wants to. He will still be an assh*le.”
Ted Cruz can identify as an Asian man if he wants to.
He will still be an asshole.
— Andrew Goss 👊USAF👊 (@Goss30Goss) March 23, 2022
Judge Jackson has declared that she would recuse herself from the Harvard University race-conscious admissions policy case if nominated to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is set to hear the affirmative action case that challenges whether colleges can consider race as a factor in the admissions process in the fall. The case was brought by a nonprofit organization, Students for Fair Admissions, led by Edward Blum, alleging that Harvard University’s admissions policies discriminate against Asian American applicants “and give unlawful and unfair preferences to white, Hispanic and Black applicants.”
