House Majority Whip James Clyburn said Sunday he wants to see a big bipartisan vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson after her historic nomination by President Biden to the Supreme Court, saying it would send a message the U.S. is earnest about pursuing a more perfect union.
“This is beyond politics,” the South Carolina Democrat told CBS’ “Face the Nation,” even after he had publicly lobbied Mr. Biden to pick a South Carolina judge to the seat. “I would hope that all of my Republicans friends look upon it that way.”
“In the final analysis, let’s have a strong bipartisan support to demonstrate that both parties are still in pursuit of perfection,” Mr. Clyburn said.
If confirmed, Judge Jackson, 51, would become the first Black woman to serve on the high court in its 233-year history. She would replace liberal Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who is retiring. She worked as his law clerk decades ago.
The president appointed Judge Jackson in June to the prestigious U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Before joining the D.C. Circuit, Judge Jackson spent eight years on the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., where she issued more than 500 opinions.
Mr. Clyburn said he is ready to look beyond the fact Mr. Biden chose Judge Brown instead of his first choice, Judge J. Michelle Childs, who is a federal judge in South Carolina and is not a product of the Ivy League.
Judge Jackson attended Harvard Law School.
“We all have our personal preference. We all have our reasonable biases. But in the final analysis, I think this was a good choice,” Mr. Clyburn said.
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said the nomination is historic and he will evaluate her fairly despite voting against her nomination to serve on the circuit court.
“She deserves a very careful look, a very deep dive and I’ll provide fresh eyes to that evaluation, and hope that I’ll be able to support her in the final analysis,” Mr. Romney told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio Republican, said he doesn’t expect the confirmation process to be as contentious as the one around Justice Brett Kavanaugh, given the make-up of the Senate and the high court.
“As you know, she’ll be replacing another liberal on the court. And Democrats have 50 votes, and plus one with the vice president, they have the ability to confirm,” Mr. Portman told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But I think the rest of us on the Republican side are going to be looking at her record, look at her qualifications. We don’t believe you ought to legislate from the bench. We think the Supreme Court focus ought to be on protecting our rights and following the Constitution, and that’s what we’ll be looking for.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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