Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) announced Thursday that he will oppose President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson is currently a federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
“I enjoyed meeting the nominee. I went into the Senate’s process with an open mind. But, after studying the nominee’s record, and her performance this week, I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court,” McConnell said in remarks.
MCCONNELL: “I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court.” pic.twitter.com/TrdKOF3s6t
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 24, 2022
This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up its confirmation hearings for Jackson’s nomination. As Townhall has been covering, several Senators pressed Jackson on her record as a judge, including defending GTMO detainees, and her judicial philosophy.
McConnell outlined several reasons behind his decision to oppose Jackson’s nomination, especially Jackson’s views on court-packing and her judicial philosophy.
“First, Judge Jackson refuses to reject the fringe position that Democrats should try to pack the Supreme Court. Justice Ginsberg and Justice Breyer has no problem denouncing this unpopular view and defending their institution,” McConnell explained. “I assumed this would be any easy softball for Jackson, but it wasn’t.”
“The nominee suggested there are two legitimate sides to the issue. She testified, she has a view on the matter but would not share it. She inaccurately compared her non-answer to a different, narrower question that a prior nominee was asked,” McConnell added.
BREAKING: Sen. McConnell says he 'cannot and will not' vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court after she dodged questions on court-packing.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 24, 2022
"Judge Jackson was the court-packers' pick and she testified like it." pic.twitter.com/iPlBBQTn9d
“She said she would be ‘thrilled’ to be a part of however many,” MccConnell recounted.
“However many,” he repeated.
“The most radical pro-court packing fringe groups badly wanted this nominee for this vacancy,” McConnell said. “Judge Jackson was the court-packers’ pick and she testified like it.”
McConnell also ripped into Jackson's deflections of questions regarding her judicial philosophy.
"Judge Jackson served as a trial judge on the District Court. She testified on Tuesday that that role did not provide many opportunities to think about Constitutional interpretation. Yet when senators tried to dig in on judicial philosophy, the judge deflected, and pointed back to the same records that she acknowledged would not shed much light,” he stated.
In the hearings, as Spencer covered, Jackson was unable to define the word “woman” when asked by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn (TN) to do so. Jackson is the first black woman to be nominated to the high court.
“I’m not a biologist,” Jackson retorted.
Senator Blackburn: "Can you provide a definition for the word woman?"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 23, 2022
Judge Jackson: "No. I can't...I'm not a biologist." pic.twitter.com/TRlqUeDGs6
In another instance, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) brought forth writings and statements from Jackson that exemplified her support for woke ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory (CRT).
"I've never studied Critical Race Theory, and I've never used it, it doesn't come up in the work that I do as a judge," Jackson claimed in Tuesday's hearing. A quote then read by Cruz that came from Jackson suggests otherwise.
Ketanji Brown Jackson says Critical Race Theory “doesn’t come up in the work that I do as a judge.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 22, 2022
Senator @tedcruz then reads a quote from her saying that Critical Race Theory is part of her work as judge. pic.twitter.com/MKtNjGeZw6
“Unbelievably, the Biden administration has nevertheless launched a national campaign to make the federal bench systemically softer on crime,” McConnell noted. “And nothing we saw this week convinced me that either President Biden or Judge Jackson’s deeply invested far-left fan club have misjudged her. I will vote against this nominee on the Senate floor.”
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