Omarova "clearly has an aversion to anything like free-market capitalism," the senator said, citing examples of her academic work.
During his speech, Toomey said Omarova's interest in these topics and others could have been shaped by her upbringing.
"You could ask yourself, 'Where would a person even come up with these ideas?'" he said. "Well, maybe a contributing factor could be in if a person grew up in the former Soviet Union, and went to Moscow State University, and attended there on a Vladimir Lenin Academic Scholarship."
Omarova was born in what is now Kazakhstan. She came to the U.S. as part of an exchange program when she was a student at Moscow State University in 1991. But when the Soviet Union dissolved, she was stranded in the U.S. Today, she is a U.S. citizen.