President Donald Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on Wednesday repudiated comments by a senior district judge in that circuit who criticized a group of former law clerks who are advocating for steps to address sexual harassment in the judiciary.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on six nominations, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, put nominee Jonathan Kobes on the spot by asking him if he agreed with comments by U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf of the District of Nebraska.