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3 of the same senators who were on the Judiciary Committee when Anita Hill testified are still on it. Here's what the makeup was then compared to now.

Pat Ralph,Shayanne Gal   

3 of the same senators who were on the Judiciary Committee when Anita Hill testified are still on it. Here's what the makeup was then compared to now.
Thelife2 min read

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 06: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) (L) talks with ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) during the thrid day of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill September 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Donald Trump to fill the vacancy on the court left by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein.

  • When Anita Hill testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her in 1991, all 14 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were white men.
  • Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont are still on the committee.
  • Today, all of the Republicans on the committee are white men. Four of the Democrats are women, and three of the Democrats are people of color.
  • Christine Blasey Ford is scheduled to testify before the committee about her sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday.

Back in 1991 when Anita Hill testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her, it was before an all-white, all-male Senate Judiciary Committee.

That image, and the cultural issues that Hill's story brought up, inspired a record number of women to run for office, prompting 1992 to be called "The Year of the Woman."

On Thursday, Christine Blasey Ford will testify before the committee that Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when the two were in high school. Kavanaugh will also testify on Thursday.

Today, four of the Democrats on the committee are women, and three Democrats are people of color. All of the Republicans are white men.

Three of the senators - Republicans Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont, were actually on committee when Hill testified, and are still on it today.

Here's who was on the Senate Judiciary Committee then and now:

senate judiciary committee members clarence thomas brett kavanaugh

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

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