WASHINGTON — Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor hobbled through a busy day of meetings on Capitol Hill Monday after breaking her ankle in an early morning airport stumble, then boarded a flight from New York to Washington to visit senators who will vote on her confirmation.
The federal appeals-court judge, who has been keeping a busy set of appointments with lawmakers, tripped while rushing for her plane at New York’s LaGuardia Airport. The White House said she suffered a small fracture to her right ankle.
Sotomayor was keeping her six appointments with senators despite the injury. She entered the Capitol for a meeting with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, on crutches, wearing a white cast covered at the foot with a black soft bootie. Asked how she was feeling, Sotomayor said, “I feel fine, thank you.”
The injury changed the tone slightly on an otherwise high-intensity round of meetings that are part job interview for Sotomayor, part preview of a pressure-filled set of confirmation hearings.
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., signed Sotomayor’s cast during their session. Her fellow Louisianan, Republican Sen. David Vitter, had a bag of ice and a pillow on hand when the judge arrived at his office. “I hope you all note that some Republicans are empathetic too,” Vitter quipped.
It was a humorous reference to President Barack Obama’s remark that he wanted a Supreme Court justice with “the quality of empathy” — a concept that has been roundly criticized by conservatives who counter that personal feelings and experiences have no place in a judge’s decisions.
Sotomayor has set a relentless pace since her Capitol Hill debut last week. By day’s end Monday, she will have met with one-third of the Senate in four days of visits.
