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Judge Amy Coney Barrett at her confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020.
KEVIN DIETSCH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
  • Republican Sen. John Kennedy asked Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee and a mother of seven, who does the laundry in her house during Wednesday’s hearings. 
  • Barrett laughed off the question and replied, “We increasingly have been trying to get our children to take responsibility for their own, but those efforts are not always successful.”
  • Some journalists and critics responded to the exchange by asking if a male Supreme Court nominee would be asked the same question. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Republican Sen. John Kennedy finished his questioning of Judge Amy Coney Barrett during the Senate’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Wednesday with a personal question. 

“It’s a sincere question, I’m generally curious, who does the laundry in your house?” Kennedy asked. 

Barrett, who has seven children, laughed and replied, “We increasingly have been trying to get our children to take responsibility for their own, but those efforts are not always successful.”

Journalists and others responded by asking whether the same entirely irrelevant question would be asked of a male nominee. 

Just a few minutes later, Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn accused Democrats of being skeptical that Barrett could be mother of seven and also lead a demanding career. 

"Some of my colleagues on the other side of the dais have seemed to be quite amazed that you could balance career and family," Blackburn said. "And I would think that they would choose to praise you for finding a way."

 

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