Put Harris on panel as reward to black women for Ala., Va.

Democrats are still swooning over their success at snatching a U.S. Senate seat from the Republicans in ruby-red Alabama. And they are showering love on African-Americans, especially African-American women, who were fundamental to Doug Jones’ win over the reprehensible Roy Moore, just as they were for the victory of Virginia Gov.-elect Ralph Northam over Ed Gillespie last month. How nice. Now, it’s time to pay up.

Right now, there is a push by the Congressional Black Caucus, civil rights groups and others to ensure that the seat being vacated by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., on the Senate Judiciary Committee goes to one of the chamber’s two black Democrats: Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. They are also lawyers. There hasn’t been an African-American on the committee since Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., who served one term (1993 to 1999).

It’s time for another strong African-American voice to be heard on the Judiciary Committee. Given the results of Virginia and Alabama, that voice should be a black woman’s. It should be Harris’.

You might know her because of the hair flip seen around the world in reaction to a male Senate colleague mansplaining the rules during an Intelligence Committee hearing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on June 7. But the episode demonstrated the steely seriousness of the first-term legislator. Before winning her seat in November 2016, Harris was the California attorney general. Before that, she was San Francisco district attorney. In both jobs, Harris focused on preventing or reducing recidivism among first-time, low-level drug offenders.

The committee has oversight of the Justice Department and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is wasting no time rolling back the civil rights advances of his predecessors. Even more important, the committee considers nominations to the federal bench, including justices to the Supreme Court, which could have one, maybe two, openings during President Donald Trump’s term.

As we saw in that Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Harris’ questioning was as forceful as it was precise. Just what the Judiciary Committee needs from Franken’s replacement.

JONATHAN CAPEHART, WASHINGTON, D.C. Editor’s note: Jonathan Capehart is a columnist for The Washington Post.