Professor or comrade? Really?
Saule Omarova is as much of an American as any U.S. citizen, except in the eyes of at least one U.S. senator who chose to take snarkiness to a hideous new level.
Omarova is President Biden’s nominee to become the comptroller of the currency. She is the first woman and the first person of color to be nominated to the post. She emigrated to the United States in 1991 and is a naturalized citizen of her country of choice.
She sat before the Senate Banking Committee and fielded questions about her background and her policies regarding the administration of U.S. currency.
OK, here comes the punch line. Omarova was born in Kazakhstan, an independent nation that once was one of the republics comprising the Soviet Union. Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican (naturally!), said: “I don’t mean any disrespect: I don’t know whether to call you professor or comrade.” Hah! When someone says they “don’t mean disrespect,” then you can wager your last nickel that they are going to say something disrespectful.
Omarova offered a disciplined and deliberate response: “Senator, I’m not a communist. I do not subscribe to that ideology. I could not choose where I was born.”
This is the quality of discussion on Capitol Hill these days?
Disgraceful.