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Sen. Josh Hawley Monday said that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has the qualifications to be on the Supreme Court, but said he’ll vote against her over her allegedly light sentences in child porn cases.
“I like her. I think she’s a good person. But I cannot support her,” Hawley, R-Mo., said Monday.
“My fundamental disagreement with Judge Jackson is not based on her character, her integrity or her accomplishments. I think those things are beyond question,” Hawley also said. “It’s based on her policy and her philosophy.”
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2022.
(Getty Images )
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Hawley was the first Republican to publicly raise questions about Jackson’s history of sentencing child porn offenders. And he was among the most vocal Republicans at the Senate hearings for Jackson, attacking her for allegedly lenient treatment of child pornography offenders and other criminals.
The GOP senator’s pushback against Jackson didn’t appear to change the minds of any of his Democrat colleagues – Jackson will likely be confirmed later this week. But they did unite nearly all Republicans against Jackson and will likely serve as election-year fodder as November nears.
“Her consistent policy position is that the federal sentencing guidelines are outdated, they are outmoded, they are too harsh, and that criminals in general are over-sentenced,” Hawley said of Jackson Monday. “She says that she disagrees on principle when it comes to these child pornography cases that criminals should get higher sentences based on the number of issues they possess.”
Sen. Josh Hawley speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on COVID-19 fraud, on Capitol Hill on June 9, 2020.
(Andrew Harnik/Pool via Reuters)
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Hawley detailed some of the cases in which he said Jackson treated criminals too leniently. And he alleged that Jackson’s overall sentences such criminals to more lenient punishments than the national average.
“Judge Jackson’s view is that we should treat everyone more leniently because more and more people are committing worse and worse child sex offenses,” Hawley said. “I’d say exactly the opposite is what we should be doing. If more people are committing worse child sex offenses, if there are more images, if the images are more graphic and exploitative, in nature – then more people ought to be spending more time behind bars.”
Hawley also launched a broadside against Democrats and left-leaning media that said his attacks against Jackson are feeding conspiracy theories.
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, March 22, 2022.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“Let me just say for the record: Sex crimes against children are not fiction. They are not a conspiracy. There are 85 million images of children being exploited, available on the internet,” he said. “Child pornography creates a cycle of trafficking, of exploitation, of abuse. It is the children who are victims, not the criminals.”
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Democrats, however, have said Hawley’s attacks on Jackson aren’t based on reality. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Monday highlighted testimony at Jackson’s hearing from the American Bar Association. It’s experts said they found no evidence of Jackson being soft on crime.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Jackson’s nomination later Monday afternoon when Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., arrives in Washington. Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Padilla’s flight from Los Angeles was forced to return due to a passenger medical emergency and that the vote will happen once the senator arrives at the Capitol, likely later Monday.
That vote is expected to deadlock on party lines 11-11 in the evenly split committee. This will force Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to call a Senate floor vote on a “discharge motion” to get the nomination to the Senate floor.
The vote was initially expected to happen Monday, it’s not clear if it may be delayed because of Padilla’s situation. When that vote does happen, it will likely reveal exactly how much bipartisan support Jackson may get.
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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has already said she will vote for Jackson. But Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have not taken a position yet.
It’s expected Jackson’s final confirmation vote will happen Thursday or Friday.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
