WASHINGTON – Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s nominee to the Supreme Court, made history Monday as she faced senators on the first day of a marathon process to potentially be confirmed as the nation’s first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
While the real fireworks are likely to be on display Tuesday and Wednesday – when senators will question the judge directly – opening statements showed that lines of support and objection are already being drawn up.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee emphasized Jackson’s role in the greater history of the Supreme Court, which has never had a Black woman as a justice.
“You, Judge Jackson, can be the first,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said, noting that being first isn’t always easy. “Today is a proud day for America.”
Several Republicans tried to draw a contrast with the spectacle of past hearings for nominees selected by GOP presidents, including Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In that case, Kavanaugh was accused of decades-old sexual misconduct – allegations he denied.
“This will not be a political circus,” said Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate. “This will not be the kind of character smear that sadly our Democratic colleagues have gotten very good at.”
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Gallery:Biden nominates U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court
Jackson: Lengthy legal opinions show value of transparency
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said she has developed a reputation for writing long.
About her nearly 600 opinions the Senate Judiciary Committee has collected as part of her confirmation process for the Supreme Court, Jackson joked about the length of the reading material, saying she strives to be explicit in her writings.
“I believe in transparency, that people should know precisely what I think and basis for my decision,” she said.
Her time as a public defender have made her sensitive to litigants’ need to understand that they have been heard by their judge, even if they don’t prevail.
She said she has dedicated her career to ensuring the words “equal justice under law” engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building “are a reality and not just an idea.”
— Rick Rouan
More:We binge-watched 14 hours of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s speeches. Here’s what we learned.
Jackson pledges to be an ‘independent’ and ‘neutral’ judge
Perhaps anticipating Republican criticism, Jackson pledged to be a Supreme Court justice who will adhere to the Constitution and not to her personal views.
“I have been a judge for nearly a decade now, and I take that responsibility and my duty to be independent very seriously,” Jackson said. “I decide cases from a neutral posture.”
While critics have accused her of being a liberal ideologue, Jackson said that “I evaluate the facts, and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me, without fear or favor, consistent with my judicial oath.”
— David Jackson
Jackson: Name honors African heritage
The first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court said she got her name from her parents’ pride in their African heritage.
Ketanji Brown Jackson said her parents were told that her given name, Ketanji Onyika, meant “lovely one.”
“My parents taught me that, unlike the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer, such that if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be,” she said. “Like so many families in this country, they worked long hours and sacrificed to provide their children every opportunity to reach their God-given potential.”
— Rick Rouan
Jackson thanks her husband and daughters
Like most nominees, Jackson isn’t talking about issues and is instead stressing personal qualities – particularly family.
Praising her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, the Supreme Court nominee said: “I have no doubt that, without him by my side from the very beginning of this incredible professional journey, none of this would have been possible.”
Jackson also praised daughters Talia and Leila: “Girls, I know it has not been easy as I have tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood. And I fully admit that I did not always get the balance right.”
“But,” she added, “I hope that you have seen that with hard work, determination, and love, it can be done.”
— David Jackson
Jackson: My faith sustains me
After thanking President Biden and other officials for her nomination, Jackson also spoke about her religious roots.
“While I am on the subject of gratitude, I must also pause to reaffirm my thanks to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment,” Jackson said. :Even prior to today, I can honestly say that my life had been blessed beyond measure.”
— David Jackson
Jackson stresses her history of being confirmed
The Supreme Court nominee opened with a subtle reminder to the assembled senators: You have confirmed me for three previous jobs.
“Today will be the fourth time that I have had the honor of appearing before this Committee to be considered for confirmation,” Jackson said in her opening statement.
That includes the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., Jackson’s current position.
– David Jackson
Hearing preview:What to watch for in Ketanji Brown Jackson’s hearing
Lisa Fairfax introduces Jackson as a role model who ‘defines friendship.’
Lisa Fairfax, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, introduced her friend Jackson before she spoke at the Senate judiciary confirmation hearing.
“She’s the friend that made sure we all (belonged.) A woman of deep faith in God and unyielding love for family,” said Fairfax, who first met Jackson in college.
The two have remained friends for 35 years, she said. The Supreme Court nominee appeared to wipe a tear as Fairfax spoke of how Jackson showed their friend group the power of hard work in transforming “the seemingly impossible into the achievable.”
— Chelsey Cox
Biden wishes Jackson good luck
President Joe Biden called Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Sunday night to wish her good luck with her confirmation hearing this week, the White House said.
Biden has been receiving regular updates on the hearing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
— Michael Collins
Blackburn promises “tough questions” for Jackson
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., one of the most outspoken Republican critics of Jackson’s nomination, promised “tough questions” for the nominee at the hearings, but said they would be asked respectfully.
Blackburn’s complaints about Jackson included issues of parental rights, trans athletes, education policy, mask mandates, criminal justice, court packing and the length of prison sentences for child pornographers.
“I can only wonder, what’s your hidden agenda?” Blackburn asked Jackson at one point.
Blackburn’s criticism echoed those of other Republicans, though there is no indication they have the votes to derail her nomination.
Her statement also concluded the opening statements by senators.
-– David Jackson
More:What’s next for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson? A high-profile confirmation process
Tillis: Judges should call ‘balls and strikes,’ not be activists
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he would retain an “open mind” as he considered whether Ketanji Brown Jackson’s judicial philosophy fits with how he would prefer a Supreme Court justice to weigh cases.
“I don’t want an activist at either end of the spectrum,” Tillis said during opening remarks on Monday, saying he told all three of former President Donald Trump’s nominees that he expected they would deliver opinions he disagreed with.
“If we are talking about preserving the integrity of the Supreme Court, there’s no place on the court for judicial activism,” he said.
Tillis said justices should call “balls and strikes” based on the law.
Calling the first nomination of a Black woman to the court “quite extraordinary,” Tillis said Jackson was showing “young boys and girls” that sitting on the high court was within reach.
— Rick Rouan
In her own words:We binge-watched 14 hours of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s speeches. Here’s what we learned.
Sen. Alex Padilla: “You are ready to blaze this trail”
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., stressing his own Latino roots, said Jackson’s nomination to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court proves the need for ‘”more voices” and “more perspectives” in government.
“You are ready to blaze this trial,” said Padilla, who also echoed other Democrats in stressing Jackson’s years of judicial and legal experience.
“You are clearly more than qualified,” Padilla said.
Padilla closed his opening statement by speaking in Spanish in praise of the nominee – perhaps a first for a Supreme Court nomination hearing.
-– David Jackson
Review:Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s opinions shows outcomes cut both ways
Rep. Jackson Lee dismisses Hawley’s child pornography remarks
During the hearing lunch break, Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas told reporters that she expects that the child pornography questions raised by GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri “will be meritless.”
“We will see how they are poised in the hearing. I don’t even call them charges, they are points that he wanted to make. But we’ll see how they poison hearings in terms of the questions to her,” Jackson Lee said.
Jackson Lee, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said of Judge Jackson, “I’m here to celebrate, but also going to be here to support her.”
As Jackson returned to the hearing room after the break, Jackson Lee approached the judge and grabbed her hands, before introducing herself to Jackson’s husband.
– Dylan Wells
Booker: ‘This is not a normal day for America’
In an emotional opening statement, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., celebrated the historic nomination of a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
“This is not a normal day for America,” Booker said, harkening to other historic firsts for the court. “We have never had this moment before.”
In its history, the court has had 115 justices, but only five have been women and only one has been a woman of color.
“We are showing that we indeed will go deep into the waters of our nation and pull forth the best talent,” Booker said. Qualified candidates from underrepresented groups have had an “artificial barrier” that have kept them from sitting on the federal bench, he said.
Citing his upbringing in a small Black church, Booker said he was struggling to contain the joy he felt over Jackson’s nomination.
“The senate is poised right now to break another barrier. We are on the precipice of shattering another ceiling,” he said. “I just feel this sense of overwhelming joy as I see you sitting there.”
— Rick Rouan
More:Jackson says she’s ‘humbled’ by historic nomination to Supreme Court as focus shifts to Senate
Tom Cotton: Biden administration is ‘waging war on the rule of law’
Sen Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a Republican who is thinking of running for president, said little about Jackson’s record, but instead focused on attacking the Biden administration in general.
The administration is “waging war on the rule of law” on issues like gun rights, border security, and executive power, Cotton said in his opening statement. He also hit the administration over rising crime rates, and claimed we are witnessing “a breakdown” of society.
Officials also want to “pack the Supreme Court,” Cotton said, and the panel should remain at “nine justices and no more.”
As for Jackson, Cotton – who voted against her for a lower court slot – said he enjoyed meeting the nominee and will have “more questions” for her in the days ahead.
-– David Jackson
How does someone become a Supreme Court Justice?
Jackson must be approved by the Senate, a power given to the chamber in the Constitution.
Every aspect of Jackson’s personal and professional life has been and will be scrutinized by both the Senate and general public. Senate staffers will read through all of her judicial decisions, speeches, interviews and any other information they can find to prepare lines of questioning for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Though the Biden administration vetted Jackson before nominating her, new information could emerge during the confirmation process.
Read the whole story here:What’s next for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson? A high-profile confirmation process
— Dylan Wells
Hirono condemns use of term ‘affirmative action’ to describe Jackson nomination
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, condemned those who oppose the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court by invoking the phrase “affirmative action.”
“They have implied you were solely nominated due to your race,” she said, calling a conservative media personality’s demand for the judge to release her LSAT scores “incredibly offensive and condescending.”
As the first Black woman to be nominated to the court, Jackson would break new ground for a court long dominated by white men who make decisions for a diverse country, she said.
“Your nomination is not about filling a quota. It’s about time,” she said. “It’s about time we have a highly qualified, highly accomplished Black woman on the Supreme Court. It’s about time the highest court reflects the country it serves. It’s about time Black women and girls can find someone who looks like them sitting on the court.”
— Rick Rouan
Who were the women who preceded Jackson?:For Black women judges like Jackson, blazing a trail has meant opportunity, scrutiny
Hawley leans on pornography sentencing
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., didn’t waste time going after Jackson directly on a line of attack he’s raised in recent days: That as a federal trial court judge, she handed down sentences for defendants of child pornography charges below sentencing guidelines.
Hawley’s criticism was notable, in part, because it represented a departure from many other Republicans on the committee who have directed their ire at Democrats or the Supreme Court itself.
Hawley, a former attorney general from Missouri, went through several of the cases he has focused on.
U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines are not mandatory and the independent agency’s own research has demonstrated that the majority of federal possession charges are sentenced under the guidelines regardless of the judge involved in the case.
“She hasn’t had the chance yet to respond to this,” Hawley noted. “I think it’s important that we hear from Judge Jackson in coming days.”
Hawley, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, was closely watched heading into the hearing because he was the one who first raised the allegations in the first place. Several independent fact check organizations have found that the claims are missing important context, including a years-old debate about whether the guidelines are too harsh.
Hawley said he believes they are not.
“This committee has heard testimony from prosecutors and others who are grappling with the problem of how to get at this porn and those who distribute it,” Hawley said. “I think it’s difficult, against this backdrop, to argue that the sentencing guidelines are too harsh or outmoded.”
– John Fritze
Who would Jackson be replacing?:Pragmatist. Institutionalist. Optimist. How Justice Stephen Breyer changed the Supreme Court
Blumenthal: A Black woman should’ve been appointed ‘years ago’
Sen. Richard Blumenthal gave the most robust defense of any Democratic senator on the committee thus far on President Joe Biden’s choice to nominate a Black woman to the high court.
“The appointment of a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court – let’s be very blunt –should have happened years ago. This day is a giant leap into the present for our country and for the court,” he said.
A poll released Monday by Monmouth University found 53% of Americans approve of the president’s pledge as a candidate.
Jackson will bring a different perspective to the court, Blumenthal, D-Conn., said, adding how representation is important to the judicial branch’s legitimacy and credibility.
“Your service will make the court look more like America, hopefully too it will make the court think more like America,” he said.
– Phillip M. Bailey
Sasse pushes back against ‘broken’ confirmation process
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the Senate Judiciary Committee can break a cycle of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices that have become increasingly characterized by personal attacks as it considers the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Following his Republican colleagues’ invocation of conservative nominees he said faced unfair criticism, Sasse called the process “broken,” and a symptom of a “broader brokenness and the erosion of our constitutional structure.”
Sasse said “screamed threats” in 2018 from Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, now the Senate majority leader, against justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were an example of the “bullying” justices have faced. Schumer later apologized for comments made as the court heard a case about a Louisiana abortion law.
“That’s weird. We should all be able to pause and say that’s weird. That kind of behavior shouldn’t happen,” Sasse said.
– Rick Rouan
Jackson compared to Ruby Bridges
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, compared Jackson’s expected walk through the door of becoming the first Black woman on the Supreme Court to the walk 6-year-old Ruby Bridges made in November 1960, when she became the first African American student to integrate a public school in the South.
– Kevin McCoy
Who is Ruby Bridges? 60 years ago, Ruby Bridges integrated a New Orleans school. Here’s what she tells kids today
Cruz: ‘This is not about race’
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, focused his opening statement on what has become a common theme of the hearing so far: Complaints about how Democrats handled past Supreme Court nominees from Republican presidents.
Almost as interesting is what Cruz didn’t discuss: Much of anything about Jackson’s record.
“This will not be a political circus,” said Cruz, a potential 2024 presidential candidate. “This will not be the kind of character smear that sadly our Democratic colleagues have gotten very good at.”
“This is not about race,” Cruz said. “It is, however, about issues and substance.”
Cruz also spent considerable time discussing the Supreme Court itself, arguing that it had become a quasi legislative body for progressive causes.
“It’s much simpler to convince five lawyers in black robes than to try to convince 330 million Americans,” Cruz said.
It is conservatives who have a 6-3 advantage on the current court.
– John Fritze
Supreme Court 101:What is the Supreme Court? Everything you need to know about the SCOTUS and its justices
Klobuchar: Jackson would bring ‘real-world perspective’ to Supreme Court
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., pushed back against Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee advocating for a strict reading of the Constitution.
During her opening remarks in the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, Klobuchar said the court should consider the people at the other end of its decisions.
Jackson, she said, would bring a “real world perspective” the court needs.
Citing Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, whom Jackson would replace upon his pending retirement, Klobuchar said the court had to ensure the Constitution remains “workable” for the time.
“Those words, his words, are highly relevant to the court,” she said.
– Rick Rouan
Lee: Court packing delegitimizes the Supreme Court
One issue Republicans will bring up often over the next four days will be a call by progressive activists to add justices to the bench as a way to combat the current 6-3 conservative-leaning majority.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, indicated how he will grill Jackson about whether she agrees if more justices should be added to the bench. He noted former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted to do such in the late 1930s, and how it stained the court’s reputation.
“There is nothing in the Constitution that requires us to have nine and only nine justices,” Lee said. “But nine is the number that works, and it’s worked now for 152 years. It’s not one we ought to revisit.”
Lee said previous justices of different ideological leanings have opposed the idea.
Jackson, he said, has served at all three levels of the judiciary and he acknowledged how given the 50-50 makeup of the Senate – with Democrats hold the tie-break vote with the vice president – she will likely be confirmed.
– Phillip M. Bailey
Sentencing:Supreme Court pick Jackson could have ‘profound’ impact on sentencing
Cornyn questions whether Jackson ‘advocacy’ guides decisions
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he was “disappointed” that Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson hasn’t revealed more about her “judicial philosophy.”
Pointing to Jackson’s lengthy resume, Cornyn said the federal judge had plenty of time to form that philosophy and questioned whether her “advocacy has bled over into (her) decision-making process as a judge.”
“This is not your first rodeo,” Cornyn said.
Cornyn picked up where other Republicans had left off, railing against judicial activism and in favor of a court that constitutional framers, he said, believed would play a “modest but important” role in the government.
– Rick Rouan
Whitehouse: Jackson not from ‘partisan petri dishes’
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has drawn significant attention to the issue of “dark money” influencing Supreme Court nominees in the past. He used most of him time during Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s hearing in 2020, for instance, to focus on that issue.
But while Republicans on the committee are hoping to raise that issue with Jackson, Whitehouse argued it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison.
“She wasn’t groomed in partisan petri dishes,” Whitehouse said of Jackson, who he said “came to us not through a dark-money funded turnstile, but through a fair and honest selection process.”
– John Fritze
Feinstein: As a woman, I am proud
Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-California, who has participated in nine previous Supreme Court confirmation hearings, said Jackson’s resume is one of the most impressive she’s seen.
“Looking at your record, it’s clear you have the qualifications, and the experience and the knowledge needed to serve on the Supreme Court,” she said. “And as a woman, it makes me very proud of that.”
Feinstein mentioned how the high court is facing “foundational” cases, including abortion rights, gun regulations and environmental concerns such as climate change. She said as the former mayor of San Francisco she knows how those issues will impact real people across the country.
Jackson, the longtime California lawmaker said, has exemplified an even-handed approach to the law that will stand above politics, and independent of the other branches of government.
– Phillip M. Bailey
Graham tears into Dems for past hearings
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., used his opening statement to complain bitterly that, in his view, Democrats have not treated previous nominees from Republican presidents fairly.
Graham, who voted for Jackson for the D.C. Circuit last year, complained that diverse candidates nominated by Republican presidents haven’t received the same treatment as Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court.
“If you’re a Hispanic or African American conservative it’s about your philosophy,” Graham said of past Democratic criticism. “Now, it’s going to be about the historic nature” of the nomination.
Graham said Republicans would be labeled “racist if we ask hard questions” but said that’s “not gonna fly with us.”
Graham, who has voted for Democratic nominees for the Supreme Court before, also criticized what he described as a “takedown” on the left of another Supreme Court candidate Biden had considered, U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs, who is from Graham’s home state.
Some labor groups had questioned Childs’ previous work on behalf of employers against unions.
“It’s gonna be a couple interesting days,” Graham said.
– John Fritze
Leahy: Jackson ‘fair and impartial’ jurist
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court could help restore American confidence in a judicial system he described as part of the increasingly partisan “judicial wars.”
“She’s a fair and impartial jurist with a fidelity to the law above all else,” Leahy said. “That’s what Americans want to see in a Supreme Court justice.”
Jackson, he said, could help unite the Senate behind a nominee who already has won bipartisan support as a nominee for the District Court of Washington, D.C.
“In this moment we have before us a unique opportunity to change that narrative. I’m under no allusion that we can mend this process overnight,” he said. “We have before us a nominee who has brought us together across party lines before and one I hope can bring us back together again.”
– Rick Rouan
Grassley notes delay in records requests
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking GOP member, said the U.S. Sentencing Commission has not yet given Republican members of the panel many records from Jackson’s tenure at the independent advisory organization for the judicial branch.
He sarcastically predicted those records might surface “about 20 years from now,” long after the hearings conclude.
– Kevin McCoy
Grassley: Jackson hearing will be more respectful than Kavanaugh
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, used his opening statement to set the GOP tone for how they plan to interrogate Jackson’s legal thinking and decision making.
The ranking Republican noted how this week’s hearings will be an “exhaustive examination” Jackson’s record and views, but will be much different than the raucous tone of the hearings that confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
“We won’t try to turn this into a spectacle based on alleged process fouls,” Grassley said. “On that front, we’re off to a good start. Unlike the start to the Kavanaugh hearings, we didn’t have repeated, choreographed interruptions of Chairman Durbin during his opening statement like Democrats interrupted me for more than an hour during my opening statement at the Kavanaugh hearing.”
Grassley said since Biden announced her as his nominee for the Supreme Court, he encouraged his GOP colleagues to schedule meetings with her. He said Republicans will be asking tough questions about Jackson’s judicial philosophy, and the role judges should play in U.S. society, as Republicans are expected to discuss rising violent crime and adding justices to the high court.
“I’ve continually emphasized the need for a thorough, respectful process,” Grassley said.
– Phillip M. Bailey
Durbin defends Jackson on crime
Durbin defended Jackson against charges that have emerged from Republicans in recent days that she has handed down sentences in child pornography possession cases below U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
“These baseless charges are unfair,” Durbin said. “They fly in the face of pledges my colleagues made that they would approach your nomination with civility and respect.”
Some Republican senators have noted that Jackson has sentenced defendants on the charges below the guidelines. But others – including some conservatives – have noted that many judges regularly sentence below the guidelines. Several independent fact check organizations have found that the claims are missing important context.
– John Fritze
Who is Jackson?: Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson in her own words
Durbin: Jackson not a ‘rubber stamp’ for president
Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had a message for the critics of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson: check the record.
Durbin said during opening remarks that Jackson would not be a “rubber stamp” for the president who is nominating her to the high court, pointing to thousands of pages of transcripts and hundreds of opinions the committee has reviewed during her previous confirmations to other posts.
“You’ve been faithful to the law not to any person,” he said.
– Rick Rouan
Senators settle in for hearing
The other 21 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are listening as Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois makes his opening remarks.
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff glanced over the press and turned to look at Judge Jackson as Durbin spoke, while Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas bent over a piece of paper, taking notes.
– Dylan Wells
First GOP criticism from Blackburn
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., offered a preview of the kind of criticism Republicans are likely to deliver.
“While I’m concerned that you don’t take seriously the rights of parents to choose what’s best for their children, you’ve consistently called for greater freedoms for hardened criminals,” Blackburn will say, according to excerpts of her opening statements.
Blackburn will also raise the issue of child pornography sentencing, which has emerged as a GOP taking point in recent days. Some Republican senators have said that Jackson has sentenced defendants with child pornography possession charges below the guidelines set out by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. But others – including some conservatives – have noted that many judges regularly sentence below the guidelines.
– John Fritze
‘Sherpa’ Doug Jones, guests file into hearing room
Ahead of the start of the first Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, guests are beginning to file into the room.
Former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, the Supreme Court sherpa guiding Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson around the Hill, has arrived ahead of the hearing.
Jones could be seen speaking to Democratic Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a guest of Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
– Dylan Wells
A guide on Capitol Hil:Former Alabama Senator Doug Jones tapped as ‘sherpa’ for Biden’s Supreme Court nominee
‘KBJ, every day’
Supporters and opponents of Jackson’s confirmation have gathered outside the Supreme Court, according to several media accounts.
Chants of “Every day, KBJ” could be heard outside the court, Max Cohen of Punchbowl News tweeted.
Kimberly Robinson, a Supreme Court reporter with Bloomberg Law, tweeted a photograph that showed several dozen “protestors or and against Judge Jackson” outside the court.
The justices are hearing arguments in two cases Monday.
– John Fritze
Jackson’s intro a signal to GOP
In the carefully choreographed presentation of Jackson to the Senate Judiciary Committee, even introductions matter.
And in this case, at least one of the people introducing the judge is intended to send a signal to the GOP.
Jackson will be introduced by two people: Lisa Fairfax, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and former U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith. Fairfax is longtime friend and Harvard classmate of Jackson’s who will speak to her character.
Griffith is perhaps a less expected choice. A former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Griffith was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican. And so the message Jackson’s supporters hope to send is clear: She may be President Joe Biden’s nominee, but she has support from across the spectrum of judicial ideologies.
Griffith was also involved in one of the cases Republicans most often cite to criticize Jackson: A decision in which she ruled that President Donald Trump’s White House counsel, Don McGahn, was required to testify before a congressional committee that was at the time exploring impeachment. Griffith was one of two judges on a three-judge panel that overturned Jackson’s ruling in that case.
Griffith noted the disagreement in a letter supporting Jackson last month.
“However, I have always respected her careful approach, extraordinary judicial understanding, and collegial manner, three indispensable traits for success as a Justice on the Supreme Court,” Griffith wrote.
– John Fritze
Supreme Court nomination highlights lack of Black women in Senate
When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson begins her confirmation as the first Black woman nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, she won’t face questions from anyone who looks like her.
There are no Black women in the U.S. Senate. Kamala Harris, who would vote on Jackson’s confirmation only if the Senate vote ties, was the only Black woman in the chamber before she was sworn in as vice president.
– Dylan Wells
Who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee?
The Senate Judiciary Committee that presides over Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court is split evenly with 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans.
Members include a handful of former presidential candidates and firebrands from both sides of the aisle who this week will question Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the court.
The members of the committee are:
- Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Il., chair
- Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member
- Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.
- Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.
- Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
- Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii
- Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
- Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.
- Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
- Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas
- Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah
- Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas
- Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.
- Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.
- Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.
- Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.
- Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.
– Rick Rouan
Poll: Majority of Americans support Jackson
A majority of Americans believe Jackson should be confirmed to the Supreme Court, but nearly half don’t know enough about her to assess her qualifications, according to a Monmouth University Poll released on Monday.
More than two-thirds of Americans feel it is important for the high court to reflect the nation’s diversity, the Monmouth poll found. About 2 in 10 believe that having a Black woman on the court will have a real impact on how cases are decided.
The results are consistent with other polling since President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee about a month ago. Just more than half of voters in a Wall Street Journal poll earlier this month said the Senate should confirm Jackson to the court. About a third said they are opposed. Just under 20% said they had no opinion or didn’t know.
– John Fritze
Profile:Who is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? For starters, she clerked for Breyer
Gallery:Associate Justice Stephen Breyer’s Supreme Court career in photos
What does bipartisanship look like?
When the Senate confirmed Associate Justice Stephen Breyer in 1994, the vote was 87 to 9, with more than two dozen Republicans backing President Bill Clinton’s nominee.
How times – and politics – have changed.
Breyer, who is retiring this year, was the last Supreme Court nominee from a president of either party to win substantial bipartisan support. These days, a bipartisan confirmation means a nominee is lucky to pick up three or four senators from the other party.
When Associate Justice Samuel Alito came along a dozen years later, the vote was far more narrow, 58-42, with only four Democrats breaking ranks. He was nominated by President George W. Bush. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor did slightly better in 2009, picking up nine Republicans. Associate Justice Elena Kagan, arguably one of the least controversial nominees in modern times, pulled in five GOP votes. Sotomayor and Kagan were both Obama appointees.
And then came President Donald Trump, whose three nominees were cleared on very thin margins. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch got three Democrats; Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh received one Democratic vote – West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin – and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett became the first justice since the 19th Century to win confirmation without a single vote from the party opposing the president.
What does this mean for Jackson? There’s little reason to think the trend will change: In the current political landscape, Biden will be able to claim victory – and the mantle of bipartisanship – if only two or three Republicans wind up supporting her. If recent history is any guide, that’s about the best she can hope for.
– John Fritze
Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson?
Biden’s decision to nominate Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court wasn’t much of a surprise. In many ways, she was the safest bet.
That’s because Jackson, who Biden nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year, has already been confirmed three times before. The Miami native and Harvard-educated lawyer had formerly served as a U.S. District Court judge and on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Both of those jobs required Senate approval.
Jackson, 51, clerked for the man she would replace, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. And President Barack Obama not only nominated her to the federal bench in 2012 but he considered nominating her to the Supreme Court back in 2016.
Bio:What to know about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden’s Supreme Court pick
Religion:Jackson would add another Protestant voice to Supreme Court
Jackson has served on the D.C. Circuit since June and so has written only three opinions there. Of her two majority opinions, one dealt with whether a defense contractor could sue Iraq. In the other, Jackson wrote for a unanimous court that sided with federal unions in a dispute over labor negotiations.
But she has a deep record from the federal trial court, writing hundreds of opinions. In her most often-cited decision, Jackson ruled in 2019 that President Donald Trump’s former White House counsel, Don McGahn, had to testify as part of a congressional impeachment inquiry. But she’s also crafted opinions that sided with the Trump administration, including on immigration and his border wall.
– John Fritze, Kevin McCoy, Nick Penzenstadler
A look at Ketanji Brown Jackson’s family
Growing up in a largely Jewish community in South Miami, Florida, Jackson, who is Protestant, was a nationally ranked orator on her high school speech and debate team. At Harvard, actor Matt Damon was one of her scene partners in a drama course. But it was another relationship she developed at Harvard that would shape her life.
She and her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, met as Harvard undergraduates. They married later, as she went to Harvard Law School and he went to Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. Patrick Jackson is now a surgeon on staff at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Jackson and her husband have two daughters, Talia, a college student, and Leila, a high schooler. After Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016, Leila Jackson, then in middle school, wrote a letter asking Obama to consider her mother as Scalia’s successor.
“She’s determined, honest and never breaks a promise,” Leila wrote, “even if there were other things she’d rather do.”
– John Fritze, Kevin McCoy, Nick Penzenstadler
Agenda for Jackson’s hearing
The Senate Judiciary Committee, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, will hold four days of hearings to consider Jackson for the Supreme Court, which is consistent with past nominees in modern times.
Starting at 11 a.m. ET Monday, the first day’s hearing will be like an appetizer, with committee members delivering 10-minute opening statements. Jackson will also get 10 minutes to give an opening pitch to the senators. The statements will likely offer some clues about the lines of questioning Democrats and Republicans will pursue.
The main event begins on Tuesday, when members of the committee will each get 30 minutes, in order of seniority, to question Jackson. The questioning will continue Wednesday with another round, with each senator receiving 20 minutes.
The final day of hearings, Thursday, will be an opportunity for outside groups and experts, such as the American Bar Association, to offer their thoughts on Jackson.
– John Fritze
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism