Booker, Harris appointed to Senate Judiciary Committee

Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) were appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, making them the first African-American members of the panel since the 1990s.

Harris, the second African-American woman elected to the Senate, also becomes the second black woman to serve on the powerful Judiciary panel.

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

Former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (D-Ill.) sat on the Judiciary Committee in the 1990s. Booker will be the first black man to serve on the committee. 

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

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

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Booker testified against Sessions’s nomination last year, the first time a sitting senator has testified against another sitting senator chosen for a Cabinet post.

Booker previously worked as a tenant lawyer, and served as a city council member and Newark mayor before his election to the Senate in 2013. Harris previously served as California’s attorney general before joining the Senate. Both Democrats are viewed as potential 2020 presidential contenders.

The Judiciary Committee, which deals with nominations to the judiciary and Justice Department, is one of multiple congressional committees conducting separate investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced new committee assignments for some party members after former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn) officially resigned last week, and new Alabama Sen. Doug Jones (D) was sworn in.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) praised the new appointments, saying he urged Schumer to appoint a member of the caucus to replace Franken on the Judiciary Committee.

“The Congressional Black Caucus could not be more proud of both of our Senate members and know the experience and expertise they bring to the Committee will be beneficial for all Americans, especially those disproportionately targeted by the criminal justice system,” Richmond said in a statement.

The addition of Jones and Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Franken’s replacement, shrinks the Republican advantage on the Juciicary Committee and Finance Committee to one seat each.