There was a time when a Senate confirmation hearing carried real weight. A president’s nominee for Attorney General — the highest law enforcement officer in the land — sits before the Judiciary Committee, and the American people get to watch their elected representatives do the hard work of vetting. It’s one of the most critical checks our Constitution provides. Or at least, it’s supposed to be.

Not every senator treats the occasion with that kind of seriousness, though. Some have turned these proceedings into a rehearsed sideshow, swapping substance for stunts. What unfolded this week during Todd Blanche’s AG confirmation hearing was a prime exhibit — delivered with a straight face by Hawaii’s senior senator, who apparently had nothing better to ask about.

From Fox News:

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, opened part of her questioning of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche Wednesday by asking whether he had ever requested sexual favors or committed sexual harassment, reviving a confirmation hearing question that has repeatedly drawn mockery from conservatives.

“Low IQ @maziehirono begins her questioning of @DAGToddBlanche —an esteemed professional with an honorable record in public service—by asking, ‘Have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors?’ What a joke,” the official White House Rapid Response account wrote on X.

Read that again if you need to. Out of every possible opening question a United States Senator could ask the nation’s would-be Attorney General — about constitutional rights, national security, the rule of law — Mazie Hirono chose that.

Blanche handled it exactly the way you’d expect a seasoned attorney to handle nonsense. “No, senator,” he responded. Twice, actually, because Hirono had a follow-up about settlements. The whole exchange lasted barely a minute and accomplished precisely nothing beyond embarrassing the questioner.

The response online was predictably brutal. The Republican National Lawyers Association posted on X: “Raise your hand if you’re tired of @maziehirono’s favorite Senate Judiciary line of questioning.” Right Line News Chief Content Officer Eric Daugherty didn’t mince words either: “WTF? What a stupid thing to ask out of nowhere.”

Hard to argue with that assessment.

A broken record since 2018

Here’s the thing — this wasn’t some spontaneous lapse in judgment. Hirono has been trotting out this identical question for eight years. She debuted it in 2018 during the confirmation hearing for judicial nominee Kurt Engelhardt, citing the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. She asked it again during Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s hearing last year. Now Blanche gets the treatment.

Whatever relevance this line of questioning may have carried during the peak of #MeToo has long since evaporated. It’s hardened into a hollow ritual. Hirono isn’t probing for truth. She’s reading from a script she wrote nearly a decade ago. Everyone in the chamber knows the answer before it’s spoken.

One social media user captured the sentiment perfectly: “She does it to EVERYONE. SHE IS ABSOLUTELY NUTS.”

Meanwhile, real issues gathered dust

What makes the whole episode sting is the sheer waste of it. This hearing wasn’t some sleepy procedural affair. Serious controversies surrounded Blanche’s nomination. The Epstein files release had drawn bipartisan scrutiny. Families of abuse survivors — including the brother and sister-in-law of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre — submitted statements opposing the nomination. An Epstein accuser, Dani Bensky, testified before the committee.

Senator Dick Durbin, Hirono’s own Democratic colleague, pressed Blanche on whether he’d meet with Epstein survivors. That’s a real question with real stakes for real victims. Hirono had the same opportunity. She squandered it on a recycled parlor trick.

Let’s be honest: even by the low standards of modern Senate theater, that’s inexcusable.

A senator who doesn’t belong in that chair

At a certain point, the spotlight shifts from the nominee to the questioner. The citizens of Hawaii send their senator to Washington to advocate for their interests and exercise sound judgment on their behalf. Every minute of committee time is finite. It matters.

A senator who burns that time reciting an eight-year-old gotcha — one that has never once yielded a meaningful answer — is a senator who has stopped doing the job. The United States Senate is no place for autopilot governance. It demands engaged, serious legislators who respect the weight of the institution they serve.

The Founders designed the Senate to be America’s premier deliberative body. A place for sharp minds and sharper questions. What they got this Wednesday was a senator who thought the most pressing thing she could ask the nation’s Attorney General nominee was whether he’d ever committed sexual harassment. The American people deserve far better than that. And if history is any guide, voters eventually make sure they get it.

Key Takeaways

• Hirono’s scripted sexual favors question squandered precious confirmation hearing time on empty theater.
• She has recycled this identical stunt at hearings since 2018 — eight years and counting.
• Serious issues like the Epstein files went unaddressed while Hirono performed her routine.
• The Senate demands serious, engaged legislators — not politicians coasting on autopilot.

Sources: Fox News, Yahoo News