Senate panel moves toward vote on Jackson court nomination
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee took up debate on Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination for Supreme Court justice on Monday as Democrats aimed to confirm her by the end of the week as the first Black woman on the court.
The committee could deadlock on Monday’s vote, 11-11, meaning Democrats would have to spend additional hours on the Senate floor to “discharge” her nomination. While that wouldn't delay the process for long, it would be another blow for Democrats who had hoped to confirm Jackson with bipartisan support.
President Joe Biden urged senators to support her in a tweet as the committee meeting began.
“Judge Jackson will bring extraordinary qualifications, deep experience and intellect, and a rigorous judicial record to the Supreme Court,” Biden tweeted. “She deserves to be confirmed as the next justice.”
If the committee does deadlock, it will launch a whirlwind of panel votes and then Senate floor action with the goal of a final confirmation vote by Friday. With the support of at least one Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Jackson is on a glidepath toward confirmation to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
After more than 30 hours of hearings and interrogation from Republicans over her record, Jackson is on the brink of making history as the third Black justice and only the sixth woman in the court's more than 200-year history. Democrats cite her deep experience in nine years on the federal bench and the chance for her to become the first former public defender on the court.
The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said as he opened Monday's meeting that Jackson has "the highest level of skill, integrity, civility and grace.”
“This committee’s action today in nothing less than making history," Durbin said....