Global Courant 2023-05-11 23:52:30
A candidate for President Biden who struggled to answer fundamental questions about the Constitution has gone through a Senate committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11 to 10 on Thursday to nominate Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren, a Biden-nominated judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Bjelkengren and two contentious judicial nominees moved forward due to Democratic California Senator Dianne Feinstein’s return to Congress after an illness.
Bjelkengren made headlines earlier this year after appearing before the committee, where she said she did not know the answer to some questions from Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy about the constitution.
SEN. KENNEDY STUMPS BIDEN NOMINEE WITH BASIC QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CONSTITUTION
Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren of the Spokane County Superior Court in Eastern Washington. (Fox news)
“Tell me what Article V of the Constitution does,” Kennedy asked at her January hearing. “Article V does not come to mind at the moment,” replied Bjelkengren.
“What about Article II?” Kennedy said. “Nor Article II,” Bjelkengren replied.
Article V of the Constitution includes the amendment process, and Article II invests the executive power in the President of the United States, listing the powers of the executive.
Bjelkengren’s inability to answer the questions led to widespread ridicule, and it also led to condemnation from Republican senators just before she went through the judiciary committee.
Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy previously asked Judge Charnelle Bjelkengren basic questions about the Constitution that she was unable to answer.
“When Senator Kennedy asked her what Article V of the Constitution was, she had no idea,” Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said ahead of Thursday’s vote. “When Senator Kennedy asked what Article II of the Constitution was, she said, I don’t know.”
BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINATEE UNDER FIRE FOR ALLEGED LACK OF LEGAL KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz also denounced Biden’s judicial nominee. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“Mind you, Article II is the provision of the constitution that creates the president, the executive branch of government,” Cruz said. “Any freshman law student who didn’t know what Article II of the Constitution was would fail Con Law.”
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“This is not an obscure question about some Latin phrase one should know — this is literally the basic architecture of our constitution,” Cruz added.
The Senate is likely to vote on the nominees in the coming weeks.
Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo and Tyler Olson contributed to the reporting.
Joe Schoffstall is a political producer/reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Joe.Schoffstall@Fox.com and on Twitter: @joeschoffstall
