California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has pressed Chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, to include Rep. John Lewis and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus in the confirmation hearings for Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III to be attorney general. Grassley has agreed—in a separate but equal kind of way.
The Iowa Republican was willing to do so, but on the condition that the lawmakers appear only after a group of outside witnesses testify about Sessions, the sources said. Democrats were miffed at Grassley’s offer, viewing it as an insult to lawmakers who typically appear before non-lawmaker witnesses. They also saw it as an attempt by Republicans to bury what would be a high-profile testimony from Lewis, a civil rights icon, and other CBC lawmakers. […]
Grassley spokeswoman Beth Levine said that Democrats had demanded a panel of lawmakers that would precede testimony from others who have already been called to appear before the committee, including former Attorney General Michael Mukasey and an official from the American Civil Liberties Union. […]
But Democrats pointed out that the committee's past practice has been to have lawmakers testify before non-members. During John Ashcroft’s attorney general confirmation hearing in 2001, the committee hosted a panel of lawmakers to discuss the former Missouri senator’s nomination. […]
Democrats are now calling for the same treatment for CBC members at Sessions’ hearing.
Lewis's office reports that he has not yet received a formal invitation to testify, nor has Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana. The hearings start at 9:30 ET Tuesday morning, so they'd better get those invitations out.