Senate Republicans on Wednesday slammed Myrna Perez, one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, for her history of advocacy against a series of Republican-sponsored election laws.
Several senators also criticized Perez, who until recently was the director of voting rights at the liberal Brennan Center for Justice, for her self-professed belief in a “living Constitution.” Perez also came under fire for an essay published after her nomination in which she accused state Republicans of attempting to make elections “less free” in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
Biden nominated Perez in June for a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit at the urging of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
BIDEN NOMINATES ‘LIVING CONSTITUTION’ VOTING RIGHTS ACTIVISTS TO NEW YORK APPEALS COURT
Perez embraced the living Constitution accusations, telling Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley that she believed the Constitution was an “enduring document” in which judges can reinterpret rights by paying close attention to its text as well as precedent. Perez also defended herself against Grassley’s criticism of her recent article, claiming that she did not write the headline criticizing Republicans.
But with other senators, Perez frequently dodged questions about her constitutional opinions and her past statements on voting rights. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy repeatedly asked Perez if her belief in a living Constitution meant that she believed judges could find “new rights” in the document. Perez told Kennedy that, as a judge, she would look primarily at precedent when determining whether a right is present but unstated in the Constitution.
“It bothers me that you’re dodging my questions,” Kennedy replied, after telling Perez that he believed Biden had appointed her to the federal bench to advance a voting rights agenda that Democrats have been unable to move forward in Congress.
On Tuesday, Biden delivered a speech in which he urged Congress to pass two Democratic-led election reforms, the For the People Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, both of which Republicans have uniformly opposed. Biden delivered his speech in the wake of a landmark Supreme Court decision upholding two Arizona voting laws that the Democratic National Committee claimed were racially discriminatory.
Perez backed Democratic opinions in that case, Brnovich v. DNC. Before her nomination, she tore into an amicus brief filed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, calling his opinion “outrageous and harmful.” Cruz had urged the Supreme Court to uphold the Arizona laws, which banned ballot harvesting and required Election Day ballots to be cast in a voter’s home district.
Cruz pressed Perez on her comments at her Wednesday hearing, telling her that he doubted whether an avowed activist could serve faithfully on a federal circuit court.
Perez responded by telling him that, if confirmed, her past opinion on Brnovich would not be “relevant.”
“The Brnovich case is the law of the land,” she said. “It has been settled.”
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley also pushed hard against Perez’s opinion on Brnovich, asking if she thought the case was wrongly decided.
“I would apply the precedent without reservation,” Perez said several times.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Perez was a familiar face on prime-time cable news during the Trump administration, commenting on the then-president’s election fraud claims and his pushes to tighten voting laws. She also frequently weighed in on voting discrimination questions, testifying before Congress as a Democratic witness on the issue.
Perez also led a brief in the Brnovich case, calling the two Arizona laws an invitation for other states to “return to similar Jim Crow-era restrictions.”
