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The Senate is considering the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Monday morning, as Republicans and Democrats lay the groundwork for a historic confirmation fight.
Senators won’t question Jackson – who would be the first ever Black woman on the Supreme Court – during the Monday session. But they’re already sparring over Jackson’s record, including whether she’s “soft on crime” and would take those views to the bench.
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“[Y]ou come froma law enforcement family. Yet despite that shared family experience, despite your record, we’ve heard claims that you have, quote, soft on crime,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said.
“These baseless charges are unfair,” he added. “They fly in the face of pledges my colleagues made that they would approach your nomination with civility and respect and fact checkers, including The Washington Post, ABC News and CNN have exposed some of these charges as falsehoods.”
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks after President Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Cross Hall of the White House, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
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But Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, laid the groundwork for a GOP attack against Jackson not just that she’s soft on crime, but that she’s willing to let her personal opinion dictate the outcome of a case.
“The most important thing that I look for is a nominee’s view of the law, judicial philosophy and view on the role of a judge in our constitutional system,” he said.
“There are a number of dark money groups on the left that argue federal judges should make policy decisions based on judge’s own values,” Grassley added.
“I’ve talked about the troubling role of far left dark money groups like Demand Justice have played in this administration’s judicial selection process. When… Demand Justice isn’t creating short lists for President Biden to pick judicial nominees from or putting out new litmus tests, they’re running ads…. attacking the independence of the judiciary. They’ve strongly supported the so-called progressive prosecutors who are soft on violent crime.”
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the fourth days of hearing on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Pool)
Grassley also complained that the committee is not getting enough records from the Obama White House, especially during Jackson’s time on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Jackson’s work on that commission is also part of some GOP attacks alleging she’s soft on crime.
The hearing will start off slow. Monday will include opening statements from the senators on the committee following opening statements from the two individuals Jackson’s chosen to introduce her.
Her first introducer will be Judge Thomas Griffith, who sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit while Jackson was a district judge in D.C. Griffith, notably, is considered a conservative legal luminary who was appointed to the D.C. Circuit by former President George W. Bush.
University of Pennsylvania Carely Law School professor Lisa Fairfax will also speak on Jackson’s behalf, before the hearing culminates with the judge’s opening statement.
GOP attacks are unlikely to keep Jackson from being confirmed with Democrats holding the thin Senate majority. And Republicans stress they won’t go into personal attacks against the judge and will stick to her record.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks after President Biden announced Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Cross Hall of the White House, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
But the hearings may largely serve as a forum to increase name recognition for the 2024 presidential election, when Hawley and Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., may be GOP contenders. More immediately, Republicans hope to use Jackson as a proxy for their attempts to paint Democrats as soft on crime ahead of the crucial 2022 midterms.
The history of the moment is was also not lost in the hearing room Monday.
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“The Supreme Court has a long and storied history… The reality is the court’s members in one respect have never really reflected the nation they served,” Durbin said. “In more than 230 years, the Supreme Court has had 115 justices. One hundred-eight have been White men… No justice has been a Black woman. You, judge, can be the first.”
He added that Jackson’s effort to join the Supreme Court will inspire “millions,” before turning to slam Republicans for their “soft on crime” attacks against Jackson.
