Whoopi Goldberg criticized Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina over his behavior during confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee.
Goldberg, speaking on The View, said Graham "should be ashamed" of his often testy exchanges with Jackson, particularly over her sentencing record in child pornography cases, especially since he'd previously voted to confirm her to serve on one of the country's lower courts.
Graham has also generated unsavory headlines for interrupting Jackson several times as she's attempted to respond to his questions, which have also required her to speak at length about how she engages with her faith on a daily basis.
You can hear what Goldberg said in the video below.
Goldberg noted Graham's concerns had not come up during prior hearings, which culminated in Graham voting to confirm Jackson to the D.C. Court of Appeals:
"Lindsey Graham, you should be ashamed of yourself. None of this came up the last three times. The last three times this woman came before you."
"You were fine with her. Suddenly now you don't know what you are doing. The last time you voted for her, now you're walking."
Goldberg also offered criticisms of the actions of Republicans who have scrutinized Jackson's record overseeing sex crime cases, noting that they were considerably less interested in examining sex crimes during Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings in 2018.
Republicans have long alleged Kavanaugh had his confirmation hearing nearly derailed by numerous sexual assault allegations they deemed not worth investigating.
Kavanaugh has denied ever sexually assaulting Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the Palo Alto University professor who identified herself as the author of a then-anonymous letter alleging that he had assaulted her while at a high school party. Multiple women came forward with their own accounts after Dr. Ford's allegations emerged.
To that end, Goldberg said Republicans "didn't want to hear about sex crimes when Kavanaugh was being nominated," urging them to dial down their attacks against Jackson because "she has not been accused of a sex crime, okay?"
Others concurred with Goldberg's assessment, decrying the behavior of Graham as well as his Republican colleagues.
Earlier this month, Graham, a current member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee indicated he might vote “no” to confirm Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court.
Graham’s announcement came despite the fact that he previously voted to confirm her to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. He said nominating Jackson “means the radical left has won President Biden over yet again.”
In separate remarks also issued this month, he said that he would have preferred Biden nominate Michelle Childs, a judge who sits on the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, the state he represents.
