'If That's Not A Dark Chapter, I Don't Know What Is!': Josh Hawley Rages Against Biden-Era DOJ

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During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) asked a judicial nominee about Title IX, and slammed the Biden-era DOJ.

Transcript

00:00Tell us about the Title IX litigation that you carried on on behalf of the state of Tennessee.

00:07Sure. In April of 2024, the Department of Education issued a final rule

00:14interpreting Title IX, which of course bars discrimination on the basis of sex in any

00:22federally funded educational program, interpreting that language to bar discrimination on the

00:27basis of gender identity and other, quote, sex-based characteristics. And as part of that rule, which

00:35again was a rule, did not go through Congress, the Department of Education informed all federally

00:41funded educational institutions from pre-K through college that sex-separated spaces like locker rooms

00:50and bathrooms must instead be assigned by gender identity and not sex. And in similar ways,

00:58sex-separated programs like intramural sports and others fell in the ambit of that rule.

01:04Let me just stop you right there. I want to make sure we understand the significance of this. What

01:08you're saying is that the Biden administration used an administrative process to interpret a law,

01:13landmark law passed by Congress, Title IX, to interpret it to require your state, and indeed

01:19every state, to allow men, biological men, into women's locker rooms, to allow men, biological men,

01:27into women's sports, to allow men, biological men, into any space that a biological woman might

01:34otherwise claim under the ambit of Title IX. Is that correct? That's correct. And so you litigated on

01:41behalf of your state to preserve Title IX. Would you say that Title IX is a landmark piece of legislation?

01:46Absolutely. Would you say that Title IX took years, indeed decades, to achieve? That's correct.

01:53Would you say that Title IX is a cornerstone of women's sports and the ability for women to have

01:58the same opportunities as men at the collegiate level and indeed every level to have sports

02:04opportunities, athletic opportunities, leadership opportunities? I mean, is this an important

02:08statute? It is, and for a former athlete, it hits especially close to home. Yeah, you've lived it,

02:14have you not? That's right. So when the Biden administration issued a rule, not a law, not

02:19passed by this Congress, a rule that would have completely changed the meaning of Title IX,

02:24would you say that that's a pro-woman agenda? We argued that the considerations of women were not

02:31adequately accounted for in the rulemaking process, and virtually every court to consider that rule,

02:37almost a dozen, agreed with the position Tennessee advanced on behalf of six states in our litigation.

02:41Every court virtually to consider the litigation agreed with your position. Is that correct?

02:48Including the Supreme Court in a stay application. Including the Supreme Court of the United

02:53States. Would you say it is fair to call the effort to undermine a landmark piece of legislation for

02:59women that you yourself benefited from, that fair and equal opportunity? Would you say it's fair to

03:06call that a dark chapter in the history of this country? I mean, certainly on behalf of Tennesseans,

03:14we thought that that rule was unlawful and inappropriate, and we were, you know, happy to

03:20succeed in the litigation. Well, I just want to tell you, I'm happy you succeeded in the litigation.

03:25As the father of a four-year-old daughter, I'm delighted that you succeeded in the litigation. I want to

03:29thank you on behalf of her and my whole family. I want to thank you for going to battle for our

03:36daughters, for going to battle for the women you played sports with, for standing up for this landmark

03:42legislation, and for fighting it. And yes, I want to say it was indeed a dark chapter. The last four years have been a

03:49hellacious chapter in the Department of Justice. Those aren't your words. Those are mine, to be clear. But I think it's

03:54absolutely a fact. Whether we're talking about the assault on women's rights, entitled in the

03:59hot 10-line context and others, where we're talking about the assault on religious believers, let's not

04:02forget, this is the Department of Justice that recruited informants into Catholic parishes in this country.

04:09If that's not a dark chapter in this country's history, I don't know what the heck is. This is a

04:14Justice Department that activated the counterterrorism division, counterterrorism division, against parents

04:21who went to school board meetings. If that's not a dark chapter, I don't know what is.

04:27This is a government, an administration, the last four years that collaborated with the biggest

04:32corporations in the world to censor speech they don't like and then lied about it. If that's not a dark

04:37chapter, I don't know what is. In fact, I'd go so far to say it is the worst chapter, the worst, in the history

04:43of the Department of Justice the last four years. Those are my views, not yours, Ms. Hermandorfer. But I will just say,

04:49when it comes to the litigation that you carried out on behalf of the state of Tennessee, I think you did

04:55a great service, not just to Tennessee, but for the nation. And I want to thank you for it. Senator Cruz.

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