Mazie Hirono

I think these kinds of outreach efforts are really important, because just saying that it is important, if we do not put in process and ways that we are going to do that it just does not happen.

And for all the time that I have been here, Republicans have been trying to defund Planned Parenthood.

I very much support.

I do not think that is where I want our country to be.

But without the presumption, the burden of proof on the veteran is pretty high, requiring things, information such as all the years that the person may have been exposed to a toxic condition.

I think one of the most difficult aspects of what we require of veterans to make the service connection evident is they bear the burden of proof.

I would like to go on record--first of all, thank you for having this hearing because it is a long time coming to address the impact of toxic exposure on our veterans.

Everything, because, as the hours were on, and she kept getting attacked in an unfounded way, I -- it truly came home to me how important she will be on the Supreme Court.

I did not want the fact that women have had to endure -- basically, women -- of this kind of assault and harassment since, as I called -- put it, time immemorial, I did not want that swept under the rug.

That hypocrisy felt particularly glaring to me.

I say because they`re running for president. Let`s be honest here.

I started asking that question before Judge Kavanaugh came before us.

Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?

The American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients is at least as old as John Adams` representation of the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre.

I have been a military lawyer for almost 30 years. I represented people as a defense attorney in the military that were charged with some pretty horrific acts. And I gave them my all. This system of justice that we`re so proud of in…

I think court watchers acknowledge there is an ideologically -- ideological split in this current Supreme Court, when we are seeing more cases decided on ideological bases, not on the facts and the law.

We have a very, in my view, an ideologically divided Court.

I think the LGBTQ+ community is very, very concerned about that.

I have been asking every nominee that comes before the Committees on which I sit the two questions that I asked you at the start of my time.

The Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, even though women have relied on their constitutional right to have an abortion for nearly 50 years.

An increasing readiness to overturn precedent.

We are seeing more and more, precedents being asked to be overturned.

My Republican colleagues made a big show yesterday of promising a fair process and, to me, that means ensuring that you are treated no differently than any other Federal judges that have got--nominees that have come before us.

The minute Justice Gorsuch was confirmed, the Court finally had a conservative 5-4 majority to overturn Abood.

The Court should consider all of those factors, I would say reliance factors loom large, as far as I am concerned, before overturning a precedent.