WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate hearing for federal appellate court nominee Goodwin Liu (loo) has erupted in partisan bickering.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy took note of the discord at Friday’s session. He said that it’s a double-standard for Republicans to criticize a nominee with liberal views, since GOP presidents have traditionally nominated conservative activists for the federal bench.
Ranking Republican Jeff Sessions of Alabama criticized Liu’s liberal view of welfare rights. He said that if Liu is confirmed, he would be willing to issue opinions to alter the meaning of the Constitution to support his views. Obama has put Liu forth for a seat on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
