Sonia Sotomayor confirmation to the appeals court would put Sotomayor in a better position for a possible Supreme Court nomination (despite there being no vacancy at the time nor any indication the Clinton administration was considering nominating her or any Hispanic). Therefore, the Republican majority decided to slow her confirmation. Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh weighed in that Sotomayor was an ultraliberal who was on a "rocket ship" to the highest court. During her September 1997 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sotomayor parried strong questioning from some Republican members about mandatory sentencing, gay rights, and her level of respect for Supreme Court
Hispanic-serving institution Hispanic-serving institution A Hispanic-Serving Institution, or HSI, is defined in federal law (the Higher Education Opportunity Act, Title V, 2008) as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment. The federal definition can be found here. In the 2016-17 academic year, 492 institutions met the federal enrollment criterion. According to Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, in order for an HSI to receive federal funding it must satisfy the following criteria: The Department of Education offers grants to institutions defined as HSIs