Jackson’s nomination represents several firsts: If confirmed, as she’s expected to be, she would be the first Black, female member of the Supreme Court and the first justice to have worked as a public defender.
Her confirmation would also hand Biden and Senate Democrats, including Majority Leader Charles Schumer
Chuck SchumerTitle 42 anniversary marks headaches for Biden, stalemate with lawmakers A movement is underway to ban lawmakers from trading stocks in office Biden signs .5 trillion government funding bill with Ukraine aid MORE (D-N.Y.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin
Dick DurbinWhere to watch Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing Durbin: Hawley criticism of Jackson ‘inaccurate and unfair’ Durbin says China’s Xi must decide his place in history MORE (D-Ill.), a major win and mark the pinnacle of their year-plus effort to put their own stamp on the federal judiciary as they head toward a November election with control of the chamber up for grabs.
Schumer touted the televised hearings as a chance for Jackson to introduce herself to the country and to make history as the first Black woman to ever appear before the committee as a Supreme Court nominee.
“To date never has an African American woman come before the Judiciary Committee for consideration to this highest court; Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the very first,” Schumer said.
“And the public will also see that her credentials, her vast experience in both public and private practice, and her near-nine years on the federal bench make her stupendously qualified to bear the title ‘justice,’” he added.
The hearings come after Jackson spent weeks participating in a largely choreographed first step in the confirmation process: one-on-one meetings with senators. She’s met with every member of the Judiciary Committee and 44 senators in total ahead of the hearing with more meetings expected before a final Senate vote.
Despite the low-key confirmation process so far, the hearing is poised to have fireworks after Sen. Josh Hawley
Joshua (Josh) David HawleyDurbin: Hawley criticism of Jackson ‘inaccurate and unfair’ Sasse: ‘There are things in Judge Jackson’s record that are troubling’ Criminal justice reformers rally for first public defender on Supreme Court MORE (R-Mo.), one of a handful of GOP senators on the panel viewed as having presidential ambitions, accused Jackson of being soft on sex-related offenses.
“I can’t find a single case of her time on the federal bench in which she sentenced a child porn offender to the recommended guidelines. Not one. If there is one, I haven’t found it, and I’d be happy to be wrong,” Hawley said.
“She’s been touted as someone whose record on the bench is what qualifies her for the court. So, she’s going to have to answer these questions and so far I haven’t heard a single answer from the White House. ….I hope they are prepared for this because this is really serious,” Hawley added, predicting that it would get “the committee’s attention.”
Hawley’s accusation drew scathing pushback from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and the White House.
“Judge Jackson is a proud mother of two whose nomination has been endorsed by leading law enforcement organizations, conservative judges, and survivors of crime. This is toxic and weakly-presented misinformation that relies on taking cherry-picked elements of her record out of context – and it buckles under the lightest scrutiny,” said Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the White House.
Bates added that in an “overwhelming majority of her cases involving child sex crimes, the sentences Judge Jackson imposed were consistent with or above what the government or U.S. Probation recommended.”
Hawley said he was not aware of the cases when he met with Jackson earlier this month. He raised the accusations in a string of tweets on Wednesday night and subsequently doubled down via interviews with reporters in the Capitol, TV hits and press releases from his office.
Asked about the tweets, Durbin immediately began shaking his head.
“I can’t believe it. …They make this personal attack on her and accuse her of being soft on child porn. It’s a lie. Consider the source. I mean, it’s coming from the right wing, playing to the right wing. It is not respectful. It isn’t true,” Durbin said.
Asked if Democrats were planning for how to rebut Hawley during the hearing, Durbin added: “Senator Hawley has a reputation …[as] a cheerleader for the insurrectionist mob. I don’t doubt that he’ll try to make an issue out of this.”
But Hawley isn’t the only GOP senator expected to raise the issue during the hearing.
Sen. Mike Lee
Michael (Mike) Shumway LeeBiden signs bill making former internment camp a national historic site White House pushes back on ‘disingenuous attacks’ against Jackson Senate averts shutdown, passes .6B in Ukraine aid MORE (R-Utah), a member of the committee, accused the White House of having a “whataboutist response,” adding that, “we need real answers.” An aide to Sen. Marsha Blackburn
Marsha BlackburnSunday shows preview: Biden calls Putin a war criminal as Ukraine conflict continues The Hill’s 12:30 Report: Biden ruffles Russia’s feathers in ‘murderous dictator’ comments St. Patrick’s Day is a great excuse to think green MORE (R-Tenn.), another member of the committee, also predicted that she was likely to raise the issue.
“I think we can expect that Senator Blackburn will want to probe some of that with her,” Blackburn’s office said.
Democrats are hopeful that they’ll pick up at least one GOP vote, but if all 50 of their members remain unified, and are present, they could confirm Jackson without Republican help by letting Vice President Harris break a tie. Though Justice Stephen BreyerStephen BreyerFormer DC judge, Penn law professor to introduce Ketanji Brown Jackson at hearing Where to watch Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing McConnell says he hasn’t made a final decision on confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson MORE isn’t expected to retire until the summer, Democrats want to have Jackson’s confirmation vote before leaving for a two-week April break scheduled to start on April 8.
Top Republicans have privately warned that going all-in against the first Black female nominee, particularly one whose confirmation they can’t stop, could backfire and that other issues, including the economy, play better for the party heading into the November election. The Supreme Court has also been on the backburner on Capitol Hill where much of the focus has been on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Radio host Hugh Hewitt told Senate GOP Minority Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell on Republicans supporting Putin: ‘There’s some lonely voices out there’ McConnell says he hasn’t made a final decision on confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson Senate GOP eyes Hunter Biden, Fauci probes after midterms MORE (R-Ky.) that Democrats were hoping that Republicans would “overplay their hand” against Jackson and make a “misstep,” and asked if the Senate GOP conference was aware of the dynamic.
“We do, and I think Judge Jackson will be treated respectfully,” McConnell said. “I think the questions will be appropriate, and I think you’re right. I think she’s highly likely to be confirmed with very few Republican votes because of her philosophy, not anything else.”
Aside from the questions about child porn cases, Republicans are signaling that could try to tag Jackson as “soft on crime” by focusing on her work on Guantanamo Bay detainees, a sentencing commission and her time as a public defender. They are also expected to ask her about progressive calls to expand the Supreme Court.
Republicans have raised all four issues with her during their closed-door meetings in the lead up to the Judiciary Committee’s hearings.
“The liberal groups that are so excited about her nomination are the very ones that have been calling for packing the Court or term limits on the Court. So in a sense, that’s her base,” McConnell added. “So that’s a double reason why she won’t answer questions about attacks on the Court, which I think would be appropriate for her to comment on.”
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