Senate Republicans on Tuesday peppered judicial nominee Kenly Kato with questions about her work as a federal public defender and past legal writing as they attempted to paint the magistrate judge as an out-of-the-mainstream candidate for California’s Central District bench.

In a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz targeted an unidentified book review Kato co-wrote during her time at Harvard Law School that considered Asian American views on race, discrimination and affirmative action.