Judge Jackson begins Supreme Court confirmation process by meeting with top senators
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson began her charm offensive with senators Wednesday morning as she met with the chamber’s top Democrat and Republican ahead of a confirmation vote that could be just weeks ahead.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters to expect a confirmation vote on Jackson, who would make history as the first Black woman on the high court, before Easter (April 17). The Senate is scheduled to be on break the second and third weeks of April.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled four days of hearings on Jackson’s nomination, starting on March 21.
Schumer was effusive in his praise of the federal appeals judge as the pair sat down for a meeting at the Capitol Wednesday morning.
“I’ve read and studied the judge’s career. I’ve heard so many good things from so many people. And now I look forward to meeting her in person and sort of fleshing out all the great things we’ve read about,” Schumer told reporters. “I am just so pleased that the president has nominated someone with such amazing qualification and breadth of experience.”
Jackson, who grew up in South Florida and graduated from Miami Palmetto High School in 1988, thanked Schumer as reporters were ushered out of a room so the Democratic leader could meet one-on-one with the judge.
As the leader of President Joe Biden’s party in the Senate, there was little doubt that Schumer would back Jackson’s elevation to the high court after he and every other Senate Democrat supported her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit just last year. But the majority leader will play a crucial role in making sure that the full Democratic caucus remains united behind Biden’s nominee, who can be confirmed without a single Republican through Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote.
Following his meeting, Schumer expanded on his praise of the judge he said he wants to confirm before the Senate’s Easter break. He pointed to her experience as a federal public defender and as a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a federal agency which works to address disparities in criminal sentencing.
The only current justice to serve on the commission is Justice Stephen Breyer, the retiring justice whom Jackson clerked for early in her career and whom she would succeed if confirmed.
“She belongs on the court. She reminds me in certain ways of Justice Breyer, who she clerked for. She is so thoughtful, and even-handed, and tries to look at both sides. And another amazing thing about her, she’s had such a breadth of experience, you know, working in a law firm, working as a public defender, working on the Sentencing Commission and being a judge for 10 years. Very few nominees to the Supreme Court have had that breadth of experience,” Schumer said.
“And you can see it when you meet her that she has real empathy. I think it’s very important in a judge — because you’re having two sides clashing over whatever the issue is — to be able to empathize and walk in the other person’s shoes. And you can see that just on meeting her, that’s who she is.”
Schumer said Jackson deserves votes from Republicans, noting that her nomination has support from the Fraternal Order of Police and that she has been praised by conservative judges.
Jackson earned support from three Republicans for her current positions on the D.C. Circuit. And while it’s possible she garners votes from a handful of Republicans, it’s likely that most Republicans will oppose her confirmation.
Meeting with McConnell
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., promised last week to give Jackson fair consideration in a statement, but he also referred to her as the “favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the court itself,” signaling what is likely to be a GOP attack throughout her confirmation process.
McConnell also met with Jackson Wednesday morning.
A minute-long C-SPAN video of the public portion of the meeting showed McConnell and Jackson awkwardly shaking hands as McConnell did not respond to a question about what he wanted to hear from the judge. Reporters were then ushered out of the room.
The judge also met Wednesday with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on her nomination later this month.
Durbin said Jackson would be available to meet with every member of the committee before the hearings begin March 21. He said the White House’s response to a questionnaire on the judge’s record refers to 578 cases the judge decided, going back to her tenure as a federal district court judge from 2013 to 2021.
“The point I want to make is for those who want to know who she is and how she thinks we have lots of evidence to present to them,” said Durbin, who took over as Judiciary chairman when Democrats won control of the Senate last year.
Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, reflected on the historical significance Jackson’s potential confirmation to the court would have for the 233-year-old institution.
“This nomination is powerful, powerful. And I don’t want to try to over-analyze it, but when you think about 115 justices and not one Black woman in the history of the court — it is going to make a difference,” Durbin said.
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 1:53 PM.
