Sen. Ted Cruz Fires Back at Sen. Cory Booker for Asking Judicial Nominee if LGBT Relationship Were 'Sin' Share Tweet

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) condemned Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) for interrogating a judicial nominee about her moral and religious principles during a confirmation hearing this week.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, Senator Booker first asked nominee Neomi Rao is she believed LGBT relationships were “immoral.”

Rao questioned the relevancy of the question before answering no.

Booker followed up by asking Rao if she believed homosexuality was a ‘sin.’

The administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs answered, “Senator, my personal views on any of these subjects are things that I would put to one side and I would faithfully follow [the precedence of the Supreme Court].”

Directly following this display, Senator Cruz defended Rao before the committee noting that he was “deeply troubled” by the attack on Rao’s personal religious views.

Cruz said, “The Senate Judiciary Committee should not be a theater for mischaracterizing or twisting a nominee's views nor an avenue for persecution.”

He continued, “We've seen a growing pattern among Senate Democrats of hostility to religious faith. I was deeply troubled a few minutes ago to hear questioning of a nominee asking your personal views on what is sinful. In my view that has no business in this committee. Article VI of the Constitution says there shall be no religious test for any public office.”

“We have seen Senate Democrats attack what they characterized as religious dogma. We've seen Senate Democrats attack nominees for personal views on salvation. I don't believe this is a theological court of inquisition. I think the proper avenue of investigation for this committee is a nominee's record. So, Ms. Rao, let me ask you about your actual record, which is what this committee should be looking at – not our religious views or your religious views whatever they may be,” he charged.

According to CBN News, Senate Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have questioned the Christian values of several candidates throughout the course of Donald Trump’s presidency.

During a confirmation hearing for nominee Amy Coney Barrett last year, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) reportedly told the Catholic Candidate that “the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.”

In 2017, during the confirmation hearing for Russell Vought, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) criticized the Christian belief of salvation when he asked Vought if a statement he made on salvation was Islamophobic.

According to CBN News, Vought once wrote in a blog post, "Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ, His Son, and they stand condemned."

In defense of himself, Vought told Sanders, "I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith."

The clip of Sen. Cruz starts at 1:51:51

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Zach Gibson/Stringer

Video courtesy: C-Span