Hampton Dellinger, a former partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, was grilled over his past statements on abortion and Supreme Court decisions.

Republican senators grilled President Joe Biden’s nominee to run the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy about his past statements on abortion and recent Supreme Court decisions during a sometimes tense Senate Judiciary Confirmation hearing on Wednesday.

Hampton Dellinger, a former partner at Boies Schiller Flexner—who if confirmed will advise DOJ leadership on policy matters and help vet judicial candidates—touted his fact-based approach to matters of law and policy and his ability to work across the aisle. Dellinger served as former North Carolina deputy attorney general and chief legal counsel for the state’s governor, Mike Easley.

“I’ve been in a law enforcement organization,” Dellinger said. “I recognize you have to have an overriding focus on independence and on being apolitical, being nonpartisan, working with career employees and officials of both parties. If I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed, that’s exactly what I would do.”

Republicans weren’t convinced.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, produced a printout of a 2019 tweet from Dellinger about abortion in which Dellinger said there were some Republican women and a handful of Democrats who want “government, not women, to control women’s bodies.”

“’But if there were no Republican men in elected office, there would be no abortion bans,’” Kennedy said, quoting from the tweet.

The tweet prompted a sharp exchange about the motivations behind the debate over abortion. Kennedy said it suggested that anti-abortion Republicans only hold that stance because they are “misogynistic.”

“Do you believe in God?” Kennedy asked. “Did it ever occur to you that some people may base their position on abortion on their faith?”

“I sincerely appreciate that people have a different position on abortion than I do,” Dellinger said, later adding, “I recognize the difference between someone saying something inartfully as a private citizen and working as a lawyer, and I think I’ve got a 30-year track record of being open-minded.”

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, raised Dellinger’s past criticisms of Supreme Court decisions striking down campaign finance restrictions in McCutcheon v. FEC and Citizens United v. FEC, suggesting that Dellinger would recommend judges to the White House who want to overturn Supreme Court precedent.

Dellinger stressed he would have an “important but limited role” in the judicial selection process, constrained to analyzing potential nominees’ backgrounds and qualifications.

“I will not be an advocate in the role that I hope to be confirmed for,” he said.

Hawley also raised Dellinger’s 30-year-old criticism of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during Thomas’ controversial confirmation battle in 1991. As a student at Yale Law School, Dellinger wrote that Thomas’ decisions would not have legitimacy and that using the term “justice” to apply to Thomas would be “an oxymoron.”

Dellinger said the statements were made decades ago during a heated confirmation process and said they “don’t reflect my recognition of his service on the court and the importance of his service on the court.”

Democrats pointed to Dellinger’s long record serving in a variety of positions. He has an active pro bono practice, where he has sought the removal of Confederate monuments and represented women’s soccer players seeking better playing conditions. He started his own firm last year after leaving Boies Schiller.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, noted that he has the support of both faith and law enforcement organizations in North Carolina.

His father, Walter Dellinger, is a former solicitor general and appellate partner at O’Melveny & Myers.

Dellinger did receive a measure of Republican support.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, Dellinger’s home state, said he had a “different perspective” than his colleagues, noting that he’s heard from people in North Carolina across the political spectrum who are supportive of his nomination.