Senator Mitch McConnell has been among the most vocal attackers of President Joe Biden's promise to place the first Black woman on the U. S. Supreme Court.
"There aren’t a lot of things you can count on in life, but one thing on which you definitely can, with the consistency of the most Swiss of Swiss watches, is Mitch McConnell blocking Democratic presidents’ agendas just to be a dick," wrote Vnity Fair's Bess Levin last week.
On Tuesday a reporter asked the Senate Republican Minority Leader how many Black women he has on his staff and if they are helping "inform" the decision-making process on his "advice and consent" responsibility.
“I haven’t checked, we don’t have a racial quota in my office,” was what McConnell, who has held office since 1985, thought would be a snappy answer – one he was anxious to deliver as he cut off the reporter asking.
McConnell claimed he's had "a number" of Black men and women "employees" in "all kinds of different positions" over the years. But he did not answer the actual question.
Many hold a different opinion and were only too happy to point out McConnell's racism.
Georgetown University political scientist Donald Moynihan posted a 2016 photo of Capitol Hill interns, which then-Speaker Paul Ryan was blasted for, given the lack of diversity.
"we don't have a racial quota in my office" https://t.co/sRQyS3GfX8 pic.twitter.com/Lk10Xnt3e8
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn) February 1, 2022
"It's not having a racial quota to *know* if you have people of color in your office," responded Mother Jones' D.C. Bureau Chief David Corn.
Here's The Atlantic's Adam Serwer:
Hm. Seems like maybe you do https://t.co/eJKoD5MfTb
— Adam Serwer 🍝 (@AdamSerwer) February 2, 2022
And more:
"Mitch McConnell Falls Apart When Asked How Many Black Women Are On His DC Staff" Black History Month is limping out of the gate as Mitch reaffirms his commitment to "no racial quota" and doesn't know if a Black woman is on his staff.#BLMhttps://t.co/z7yTdCsBp6
— The Arbiter (@dcr327) February 2, 2022
On the surface, this seems like a good “gotcha” comeback by McConnell. But if you think about it for a half a sec, he’s basically telling us that he only considers hiring black women when he has to meet a quota. He’s also inadvertently telling us that the answer to this ? is 0. https://t.co/EJffYuI8uo
— Terence (@TOPolk) February 1, 2022
Sen. Mitch McConnell on how many Black women work in his office: 'I haven't checked, we don't have a racial quota' https://t.co/uvyoAaa5mr McConnell's remark is akin to "Iam not racist, I have a black friend"!
— Jeff (@ISGOelke) February 2, 2022
Seeking out diversity of lived experience on one's staff is a positive hiring practice in any org. Esp in democratic policymaking, representation of all American lived experience is our stated value. Senator McConnell is trying to smear that value by using term "racial quota"
— Susan Bordson (@susanbordson) February 1, 2022
