TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Nominee quizzed in preparation for GOP queries

ADVERTISEMENT

The Washington Post

Published: July 12, 2009

WASHINGTON - White House officials spent hours last week preparing Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor for what they anticipate will be a concerted Republican effort to portray her as an "activist" jurist and will counter that her 17 years on the bench are a display of judicial restraint.

Slated to become the country's first Hispanic justice, Sotomayor has spent long hours in a cramped conference room on the third floor of the Old Executive Office Building, her fractured ankle propped on a trash can as lawyers took turns peppering her with questions.

Outnumbered Senate Republicans have found the 55-year-old Sotomayor an elusive target in the six weeks since President Obama made her his first nominee for the court and are hard-pressed to offer a scenario that would lead to her defeat in a chamber where their party claims only 40 members.

But Republican lawmakers and conservative strategists say the seven GOP members of the Judiciary Committee will press Sotomayor on issues that appeal to their conservative base - such as gun owners' rights, property rights, the use of international law in deciding cases - while trying to build a case that Sotomayor's political views influence her decision-making on the bench.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT