Ketanji Brown Jackson Hearings Begin Today

Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson are set to begin Monday morning.

Summary

Senate confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will kick off later Monday.

• Senate confirmation hearings for President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will kick off later Monday.
• Judge Jackson was nominated to replace retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer and would be first black woman and former federal public defender on the Court.
• Senate Democrats are expected to praise Jackson. Some Senate Republicans have signaled a desire for a low key hearing as the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority won’t be affected, although some Senate Republicans thought to have presidential aspirations are expected to have tough questions for Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee.
• Judge Jackson currently serves on the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit (the second-most important federal court). While on the DC Circuit, Judge Jackson wrote notable opinions on presidential power, labor, and immigration.
• Jackson ruled against the Trump administration over a dispute with House Democrats on their attempt to subpoena a close Trump advisor’s testimony. She also blocked the Trump administration’s plan to fast-track deportations and a labor rule that made it easier to remove public sector employees. Both of those rulings were overturned on appeal.
• In other Supreme Court news, Justice Clarence Thomas was hospitalized Friday with an infection “after experiencing flu-like symptoms.” A statement from the Supreme Court described the Justice as “resting comfortably” and said he is expected to be released from the hospital “in a day or two.”

• The New York Times covered Ketanji Brown Jackson’s time as an undergraduate at Harvard, and how that put her on the path to becoming the first black woman nominated to the US Supreme Court.
• Politico profiled Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee will preside over the hearings.
• CNN flashed back to ten memorable moments from past Supreme Court nominations.

• Fox News legal analyst Andrew McCarthy wrote on “the right reason to oppose Judge Jackson” for National Review. McCarthy argued her progressive judicial philosophy is reason enough to vote against her, and that Senators should not approve her simply based on her qualifications.
• Fox News hit Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus for hypocrisy after she condemned GOP criticism of Jackson as “unfair treatment” yet was a vociferous critic of Brett Kavanaugh. Marcus supported the sexual assault allegations against him despite the lack of evidence.
• Breitbart previewed Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s line of attack against Jackson. Hawley called out Jackson for having what he called “a pattern of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes.”

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© Dominic Moore, 2022