“Spartacus” was at it again a few moments ago at the confirmation hearing for Neomi Rao to replace Brett Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, this time making an embarrassing blunder when asking the nominee about her “LGBTQ law clerks”:

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ): "Have you ever had any LGBTQ law clerks?" Neomi Rao: "Senator, I've yet to be a judge. I don't have law clerks." Embarrassing moment for Booker. h/t @dchauptmann — Alyssa E. Hackbarth (@AlyssaEinDC) February 5, 2019

Whoops!

Booker's liability is his unwillingness to put in the hard work of learning. Charisma can't overcome it always. — Nathan, son of Robert (@NathanWurtzel) February 5, 2019

Sen. Booker also got into with Sen. Ted Cruz after he questioned Rao about the “morality” of same-sex relationships:

Sen. Booker is up, pressing Rao on her past writings on same-sex marriage. Q: Do you think same-sex relationships are immoral? Rao: "I'm not sure the relevance of that to…" Q: It is relevant what your opinion is… Rao: "No I do not." — Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) February 5, 2019

Sen. Cruz criticizes Democrats and Sen. Booker in particular for asking Rao whether she believes gay relationships are immoral or a sin. Rao said she does not, and would put aside her personal views as a judge to follow the law. — Ann Marimow (@amarimow) February 5, 2019

So, Spartacus, there’s a religious test now?

Um Sen. Booker grilling Rao on her… religious beliefs? — Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair (@senatorshoshana) February 5, 2019

Not loving a senator asking a nominee if she believes something is a "sin" – that goes to religious beliefs, not personal ones — Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair (@senatorshoshana) February 5, 2019

Cruz did a great job of smacking Booker back into his lane:

Yes @tedcruz did such a great job calling out @CoryBooker (and maybe also Sen Kennedy) for personal religious questions that Cory Booker had to jump in and justify himself. ? https://t.co/R53rSJaNnB — Gayle Trotter (@gayletrotter) February 5, 2019

Cruz did such a good job that Booker had to clarify himself:

He goes back to say it wasn't the point he was trying to make… but idk, didn't seem that way. rewatch for yourself — Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair (@senatorshoshana) February 5, 2019

How weak was @CoryBooker ‘s backpedal? — Gayle Trotter (@gayletrotter) February 5, 2019

Transcripts and video of the Booker debacle:

After @CoryBooker questioned nominee Neomi Rao’s opinions on the sinfulness of certain behaviors, @TedCruz had the below to say just a moment later. Booker then said he wasn’t attacking religious freedom, but said that religion has been used as a ruse to justify discrimination. pic.twitter.com/Mi32j4lmdY — Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) February 5, 2019

Here is the video of Cory Booker grilling U.S. Court of Appeals nominee Neomi Rao’s views on the morality or sinfulness of gay relationships.pic.twitter.com/mHVxKv6hpz — Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) February 5, 2019

And here is Cory Booker responding to Ted Cruz’s response to him.pic.twitter.com/y2aPUG3vKl — Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) February 5, 2019

***

Related:

Aw, that’s sweet! Kirsten Gillibrand and Cory Booker play nice before losing Democrat nomination https://t.co/6tZMwsJpfX — Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 3, 2019

UPDATE: Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker call on Gov. Ralph Northam to resign https://t.co/T4YDxeo59m — Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 2, 2019