Senate Democrats are on track to confirm Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson this week, giving President Biden a domestic win and fulfilling his campaign promise of putting the first Black woman on the high court.
The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked Monday 11-11 to send the nominee to the full Senate for consideration, but Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer can still easily use a procedural maneuver to get the nomination to a final vote.
Senate Democrats plan to vote on a discharge petition that will set up Judge Jackson’s confirmation vote for as early as Thursday.
“It’s the first time the committee has had the opportunity to advance the nomination of a Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court. This is a historic moment for the committee and for America,” said Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat.
Mr. Durbin also lauded Judge Jackson’s “impeccable” qualifications, including being the first public defender to serve on the high court.
“These critical experiences bring a missing perspective to the court,” he said.
Republicans on the committee objected to the nominee and said she will be a judicial activist.
“She and I have fundamentally different views on the role of judges and the role they should play in our system of government,” said Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the committee.
Republicans also criticized her handling of sentences for child pornography offenders, the most damaging revelation about the judge during her confirmation hearings.
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, said Judge Jackson’s sentences were 57% lower than the national average, which is 68 months, for child pornography possession cases.
“This is a pattern,” he said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said Judge Jackson did not consider sentencing enhancements, such as the use of a computer or the number of images a defendant had in possession.
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“She does not hold that against the defendant — the perpetrator. I could not disagree more,” he said.
But Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota Democrat, defended Judge Jackson’s sentencing record, saying she made her own decisions when evaluating punishments on a case by case basis.
“The average sentence imposed was 65 months,” Ms. Klobuchar said. “She’s going to decide cases with fairness.”
Though her committee vote was on along party lines, Judge Jackson is expected to have bipartisan support in the final confirmation vote. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah announced they will join Democrats in voting for her.
Judge Jackson woulds be the sixth woman to ever sit on the bench, and she would join three other women currently serving: Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett.
Judge Jackson was appointed to the prestigious U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia in June by Mr. Biden. Before joining the D.C. Circuit, Judge Jackson spent eight years on the U.S. District Court for Washington, where she issued more than 500 opinions.
During that time, Judge Jackson impressed liberals with her rulings in cases against former President Donald Trump. Conservatives have criticized her for having a record of overreaching her authority as a judge.
She ruled against Mr. Trump’s attempt to prevent the release of White House records concerning the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. She also sided with congressional Democrats in their attempt to get Mr. Trump’s former White House counsel, Don McGahn, to testify in their impeachment inquiries against the former president.
In 2017, Judge Jackson sentenced the “Pizzagate” shooter to four years in prison. The infamous case involved a pizza parlor in Washington where a man from North Carolina opened fire after a false right-wing conspiracy theory was circulated online, claiming the restaurant was at the center of an alleged child-sex abuse ring involving influential Democrats.
She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and also previously clerked for Justice Stephen G. Breyer, whom she will replace later this year if confirmed. Justice Breyer is expected to step down after the court’s term ends in June.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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