Sens. Harris, Booker Appointed to Senate Judiciary Committee

Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have been appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the confirmation of federal judges, including the Supreme Court, and nominations to the Department of Justice.

The committee hasn’t had a black senator as a member since the 1990s, and Booker, of New Jersey, will be the first black male to join. Harris of California is the first black female on the committee since Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, D-Ill., held a seat in the 1990s. She replaces Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., who announced his resignation last year following allegations of sexual misconduct.

"The Trump administration has repeatedly demonstrated its hostility to the ideals of civil rights and equal justice for all," Booker said Tuesday in a statement. "As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will make it my mission to check and balance President [Donald] Trump and Attorney General [Jeff] Sessions."

Excited to join the Judiciary Committee. It'll be my mission to check awful actions by Trump & Sessions; keep working to advance the cause of reforming our broken justice system; and to bend the arc of history closer toward equal justice for all. https://t.co/dvq4vdTkQa

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 9, 2018

Harris wrote on Twitter:

Thrilled to share that I've been appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee. You have my commitment that I will fight for justice on behalf of Californians and all Americans.

— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) January 9, 2018

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