Senate Judiciary Clash Tests Respect for Black Women Politicians

Laphonza Butler said she’s used to “being the only Black woman” in the room, a position she found herself in once again on the dais while leading a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

In a scene little noticed at the time outside the committee room, two Republican senators—Ted Cruz of Texas and John Kennedy of Louisiana—shouted over the interim California Democrat, the third Black woman to serve in the Senate, as she denied them additional time to challenge testimony by a trial court nominee.

The anger directed toward Butler at the May hearing was discussed widely among Democratic members and their ...