Courts

The Most Cringe Moment From Lucy Koh's Judicial Confirmation Hearing

The Senator should be embarrassed right about now.

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Hon. Lucy Koh (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Listen, even the most hardcore federal judicial junkies don’t listen to every moment of every judicial confirmation hearing. But sometimes there’s an awkward moment that simply has to be called out.

Yesterday was the hearing on President Joe Biden’s nomination of Lucy Koh to the Ninth Circuit. Koh, a former intellectual property partner at McDermott Will & Emery, currently sits as a district court judge for the Northern District of California. And this is her second appellate nomination — Barack Obama nominated her in 2016, but the Republican-controlled Senate refused to act on the nomination. While all this is interesting, it’s Senator Chuck Grassley’s interaction with Koh that is garnering attention — and not the good kind:

“What you said about your Korean background reminded me a lot of what my daughter-in-law of 45 years has said: ‘If I’ve learned anything from Korean people, it’s a hard work ethic. And how you can make a lot out of nothing,’” [Grassley] said. “So I congratulate you and your people.”

YIKESTOWN. I’d say okay Boomer, but Grassley is older than that.

I mean… we all know that model minority myth is harmful and racist. Right? RIGHT?!?!? That’s why the statement of Taylor Foy, Grassley’s spokesperson, doesn’t really help:

“Sen. Grassley’s intent was to be complimentary, not to insult anyone. Chairman Durbin invited Judge Koh to share the inspiring story of her family’s immigration to the United States. Sen. Grassley shared that he has similarly been inspired by the immigration story of his daughter-in-law, who is also Korean-American.

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Anyway for those scratching their heads and grunting “but, but, it’s a compliment,” I’ll let Representative Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, take it away.

Right about now is when I remind everyone that Grassley was first elected to public office during the Eisenhower administration. The 88-year-old announced he is seeking re-election.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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