Sen. Susan Collins announced Wednesday she is supporting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation, giving President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee bipartisan support.
The Maine Republican said after meeting with the nominee twice that she believes Judge Jackson has the qualifications and experience to serve as an associate justice.
Ms. Collins also said Supreme Court confirmation battles have become so polarized, and she did not want to contribute to that growing trend.
“In my meetings with Judge Jackson, we discussed in depth several issues that were raised in her hearing. Sometimes I agreed with her; sometimes I did not. And just as I have disagreed with some of her decisions to date, I have no doubt that, if Judge Jackson is confirmed, I will not agree with every vote that she casts as a Justice,” Ms. Collins said.
“In my view, the role the Constitution clearly assigns to the Senate is to examine the experience, qualifications, and integrity of the nominee. It is not to assess whether a nominee reflects the ideology of an individual Senator or would rule exactly as an individual Senator would want,” she added.
Ms. Collins had supported Judge Jackson’s confirmation to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last June.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican, also voted for Judge Jackson at the time.
It is unclear if either Ms. Murkowski or Mr. Graham will continue to give the nominee their support. But Mr. Graham grilled Judge Jackson during her confirmation hearing last week over her sentencing of child porn offenders, charging that she was not harsh enough.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote Monday on Judge Jackson’s confirmation before her nomination heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Democrats have said they hope to have her confirmed before leaving for Easter recess, which begins April 8.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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