TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s appointee to the Kansas Court of Appeals has gotten a chilly reception at her first confirmation hearing before a Senate panel.

Kathryn Gardner faced fierce questioning Wednesday by Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Jeff King. The Independence Republican compared Gardner’s qualifications to those of Harriet Miers, whose appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 was eventually withdrawn following strong bipartisan opposition.

Gardner has served as the law clerk for U.S. District Judge Sam Crow since 2000 after working for 12 years as a practicing lawyer in Wichita and two years as an assistant state attorney general.

She said her time as clerk was directly applicable to the job of an appellate judge, but King said it leaves too vague of an impression of her legal philosophy.