Senator Cruz Confronts Biden Judicial Nominee Dale Ho Over Partisan Record and Yale’s Asian Discrimination Policy

On 12/1/2021, Senator Ted Cruz tore into Dale Ho, one of President Biden’s judicial nominees for the Southern District of New York, during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Cruz accused Ho of being another example in what he called Biden’s pattern of nominating “extreme partisans” and “radicals” to the federal bench, and pressed Ho on his alma mater Yale Law School’s policy of discriminating against Asian Americans in admissions.

”Wild-Eyed Leftist” and Hatred of Conservatives

Cruz opened by confronting Ho with his own words. “In my view, your record reflects that same pattern of finding someone who has been an extreme partisan, who has been a radical, and President Biden trying to put judicial robes on that partisan and radical agenda,” Cruz said. “And I would note at the outset that that’s not just my characterization. You yourself have described yourself as, quote, a ‘wild-eyed leftist’ and further, as someone, quote, ‘accused sometimes of seeing discrimination everywhere you look.’ Is that right?”

Ho attempted to deflect, saying “I think the key word in that quote is ‘accused.’ What I was doing—” before Cruz pressed on to a more damaging quote.

Cruz then read from a November 2017 piece Ho had written: “In these dark times, I’ve been fortunate to find tremendous sense of purpose in my work as a civil rights lawyer. But as a colleague of mine asked me over lunch recently, ‘Dale, do you do this because you want to help people or because you hate conservatives?’ What he was getting at is that anger can, in fact, be a tremendous source of power. For me, righteous indignation can provide a sense of moral clarity and motivate the long hours needed to get the work done. But it’s only a short-term burst. It’s not sustaining in the long run."

"How Does That Possibly Give Anyone Comfort?”

Cruz then posed a pointed question. “Mr. Ho, if you wake up in our judge home, and I recognize that New York is a blue state, but imagine there is someone who considers himself or herself a conservative in the state of New York, who God forbid finds himself in a courtroom where you’re wearing a robe — what comfort do you think that litigant would have? That you’ve described the hatred of conservatives, the righteous indignation, the anger at conservatives as a tremendous source of power for you personally. How does that possibly give anyone comfort that you would be a fair and impartial judge?”

Ho responded that his writing was “a comment that I made in church where I was relaying a joke that someone else had told, the point of which was that that kind of temporary sugar rush from being angry at someone, while it can feel powerful in a moment, it’s not the kind of thing that is sustaining for a human being in the long run, that at the end of the day, if you want to do good work in the world, it has to come from a different place, a place of love for your fellow person.”

“Well, that’s not what you said,” Cruz responded. “And what you said is you described hatred and righteous indignation directed at conservatives. And I would note that that’s a pattern that also continues.”

Tweets Attacking Committee Members

Cruz also noted that Ho had recently tweeted attacks at multiple members of the Judiciary Committee. “And I found it amusing the exchange a moment ago with one of the Democratic senators about, oh, some older, intemperate statements,” Cruz said. “I would note just sitting here, this may be a first in that you have tweeted attacks at multiple members of this committee, including Senator Lee, Senator Cotton, Senator Blackburn, Senator Cornyn. And far from being intemperate statements when you were a teenager, most of these tweets occurred last year.”

Yale’s Discrimination Against Asian Americans

Cruz then shifted to Ho’s alma mater, the Yale Law School, and the Biden administration’s decision to drop an investigation into Yale’s admissions practices. “The Yale Law School has an open policy of discriminating against Asian Americans,” Cruz said. “One of the first things that Joe Biden’s Justice Department did was dismiss the investigation against Yale, because today’s Democratic Party believes discriminating against Asian Americans in admissions is an acceptable form of bigotry. Do you agree with the Biden administration on that?”

Ho said he had not followed the specifics of what the administration had done regarding Yale. Cruz pressed further: “Do you agree with your alma mater’s policy of discriminating against Asian Americans in admissions?”

“Senator Cruz, I’m a member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. I try to do what I can in the Asian American legal community,” Ho replied. “I’m not aware of a particular policy of discrimination in admissions at Yale Law School.”

Cruz responded: “Well, your record suggests precisely the contrary.”

Biden’s Pattern of Partisan Nominees

Cruz framed Ho’s nomination as part of a broader problem with Biden’s judicial picks. “In his first year in office, President Biden has made a pattern of nominating extremes, partisans, and radicals to serve in the administration, but especially to serve on the bench. And unfortunately, that pattern continues today,” Cruz said.

Dale Ho was Biden’s pick to sit on the bench for New York’s Southern District.

Key Takeaways

Senator Cruz confronted nominee Dale Ho with his own 2017 writing describing “hatred of conservatives” and “righteous indignation” as “a tremendous source of power” in his civil rights work.
Ho defended the statement as a joke told in church about how anger is not sustaining, but Cruz responded: “That’s not what you said.”
Cruz noted Ho had tweeted attacks at multiple Judiciary Committee members — Senators Lee, Cotton, Blackburn, and Cornyn — most within the prior 18 months.
Cruz pressed Ho on Yale Law School’s policy of discriminating against Asian Americans in admissions; Ho said he was “not aware of a particular policy of discrimination.”
Cruz characterized Ho’s nomination as part of Biden’s pattern of nominating “extreme partisans” and “radicals” to the federal bench.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

You yourself have described yourself as, quote, a wild-eyed leftist and further, as someone, quote, accused sometimes of seeing discrimination everywhere you look. Is that right?
In these dark times, I’ve been fortunate to find tremendous sense of purpose in my work as a civil rights lawyer. But as a colleague of mine asked me over lunch recently, Dale, do you do this because you want to help people or because you hate conservatives?
This was a comment that I made in church where I was relaying a joke. That kind of temporary sugar rush from being angry at someone, while it can feel powerful in a moment, it’s not the kind of thing that is sustaining for a human being in the long run.
Well, that’s not what you said. And what you said is you described hatred and righteous indignation directed at conservatives.
You have tweeted attacks at multiple members of this committee, including Senator Lee, Senator Cotton, Senator Blackburn, Senator Cornyn. And far from being intemperate statements when you were a teenager, most of these tweets occurred last year.
Do you agree with your alma mater’s policy of discriminating against Asian Americans in admissions? I’m not aware of a particular policy of discrimination in admissions at Yale Law School.
Your record suggests precisely the contrary.

Full transcript: 1049 words transcribed via Whisper AI.