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Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, opened part of her questioning of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday by asking whether he had ever requested sexual favors or committed sexual harassment — reviving a confirmation-hearing question that has repeatedly drawn mockery from conservatives.
“Low IQ @maziehirono begins her questioning of @DAGToddBlanche —an esteemed professional with an honorable record in public service—by asking, ‘Have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors?’ What a joke,” wrote the official White House Rapid Response account on X.
Hirono recently held the same line of questioning during the confirmation hearing for Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum last year. Hirono began introducing the questions in 2018, inspired by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Eric Lee/Getty Images)
“Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature,” Hirono asked.
“No, Senator,” Blanche responded.
“Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?” she followed up.
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche gets sworn in at his confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“No, Senator,” Blanche responded.
Social media users swiftly mocked Hirono’s opening line of questions.
“Raise your hand if you’re tired of @maziehirono’s favorite Senate Judiciary line of questioning,” posted the Republican National Lawyers Association on X.
“The White House is RIPPING deranged Sen. Mazie Hirono (D) for demanding AG Todd Blanche answer, ‘have you ever made unwanted requests for s*xual favors’ BLANCHE: ‘…no, senator..,’” wrote Right Line News Chief Content Officer Eric Daugherty on X.
“WTF? What a stupid thing to ask out of nowhere,” Daugherty added.
“She does it to EVERYONE, SHEIS ABSOLUTELY NUTS,” added one user.
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Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, talks to reporters after the Senate heard closing arguments in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Feb. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Hirono wrote in 2018 that she is “asking nominees to our courts, under oath, whether or not they have a history of sexual assault or harassment.”
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“Like in other industries, our judges are in positions of power & #TimesUp,” she posted on X at the time.
She first used the line of questioning during the confirmation hearing for judicial nominee Kurt Engelhardt during the first Trump administration.
