In an odd moment between a conservative senator and a Republican presidential nominee, Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy put himself at odds with President Donald Trump’s judicial nominee for the Southern District of Indiana, Justin Olson, over Olson’s beliefs on marriage and sexuality.

Olson, a former assistant U.S. attorney now in private practice, was before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

During his allotted time for questions, Kennedy asked Olson several questions about past sermons he’s given, homing in on his beliefs as an elder in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America.

“In August of 2015, you gave a sermon at the Second Reformed Presbyterian Church. Do you remember that?” Kennedy asked.

After Olson answered in the affirmative, Kennedy went on.

“During that sermon, you said that marriage was not intended for all people including, and I’m going to quote your words, ‘our handicapped friends or our persons with physical disabilities that might prevent the robust marriage that we’re called to.'”

The whole exchange can be seen below:

Sen. John Kennedy: “What do you mean by fornication?”

Justin Olson: “Any sexual act outside of the bounds of marriage.”

Kennedy: “So you believe premarital sex is a sexual perversion?”

Olson: “Senator, again, my personal views, as many have said before, I won’t comment…” pic.twitter.com/qt8dJaHi1D

— Forbes Breaking News (@ForbesTVNews) December 17, 2025

“You believe that folks with handicaps and physical disabilities should not be able to marry?”

Olson responded, “I was explaining the meaning of Christ’s words that some, to use Christ’s terms, are ‘eunuchs by birth’ and explaining the meaning of that verse in the context of those who are called to singleness …

“Certainly not in any stretch of the imagination [am I] suggesting that they couldn’t or shouldn’t, merely that in some cases, they don’t.”

Olson’s sermon can be heard here.

The senator went further, this time on sexuality and sin.

He drilled Olson on another sermon, this one from 2022.

“You said, quote, ‘transgenderism, homosexuality, fornication and all sorts of sexual perversions, was a form of hypocrisy from,’ quote, your words, ‘shame on the inside.’

“Do you believe that fornication is a form of sexual perversion?”

After Olson tried to steer the conversation towards matters of a more judicial nature, Kennedy pressed him.

“The doctrine of the church that I was at does state that fornication is a sin,” Olson said, to which Kennedy shot back, “Well, what do you mean by fornication?”

“Any sexual act outside the bounds of marriage,” Olson responded.

Kennedy kept putting the topic forward, asking if fornication as a sexual perversion was “your doctrine,” with Jones trying to assure him of his abilities as a judge, not as an elder in his church.

The exchange was unusual from a Republican to say the least. If the name “Kennedy” were omitted, any reasonable person would assume this was a line of questioning from a Democrat.

These are the questions Democrats find important in judges, not the rule of law.

Kennedy is normally a hero of conservative media stories. His blistering questions of Biden administration officials, his take-no-prisoners handling of the liberal media, and clashes with Democratic senators have made him popular on the political right.

In this case, however, he apparently wanted Olson to admit he thinks those with autism or the physically disabled should be banned from getting married.

His insistence on pressing the issue of “fornication” is enough to make viewers think he’s never set foot in a church. (For the record, Kennedy, a resident of Madisonville, Louisiana, is a founding member of his local Methodist Church, according to his Senate biography.)

It’s unclear why Kennedy is willing to go to war over these issues, but it’s not a look that will win him any favor among many conservatives.

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