Tennessee republican Senator Marsha Blackburn said Friday that it was “extremely inappropriate” for President Biden to announce his Supreme Court choose during the height of Russia invasion of Ukraine.
Biden nominated Federal Judge Kentuji Brown Jackson on Friday, fulfilling his promise to choose a black woman to serve on the Supreme Court to replace Liberal Judge Stephen Brier.
“President Biden’s announcement just days after an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Russia is extremely inappropriate,” Blackburn said. Twitter in Friday. “This is an attempt to hide the fact that for more than three months Biden refused to impose sanctions on Russia or send military aid to Ukraine.”
“Once again, Biden puts the demands of the radical progressive left before what is best for our nation.”
The United States has provided $ 650 million in military aid to Ukraine in the past year. But Biden withheld a Ukrainian aid package in December, worried that the move would be seen as aggressive by the Russians when negotiations are still ongoing. The Biden administration has also taken a more hesitant approach to sanctions, arguing that they should be kept above Putin’s head as a deterrent to invasion.
But on Thursday, Biden acknowledged that he knew sanctions would never stop Putin from invading. “No one expected the sanctions to prevent anything from happening,” he said, in direct contrast to claims by other administration officials.
“President Biden’s announcement just days after an unprovoked full-scale invasion from Russia is extremely inappropriate,” Blackburn said Friday.
“For too long, our government, our courts, did not look like America,” Biden said when introducing Jackson, the first black woman to be nominated for the Supreme Court.
Blackburn said he would not keep Biden’s “failure” against Jackson and planned to meet with the nominee to see if she was “a man of high character.”
The news cycle on Friday was full to the brim with Russia, which has started a total war with Ukraine, and the White House announced its candidate for the Supreme Court, and the Centers for Disease Control canceled its recommendation for a mask.
“For too long, our government, our courts have not been like America,” Biden said when introducing Jackson, the first black woman to be nominated for the Supreme Court.
“I’m really humbled by the great honor of this nomination,” Jackson said.
“I have to start with these very brief remarks, thanking God for bringing me to this point in my career. “My life has been immensely blessed, and I know that one can only get there by faith,” she said.
In insisting on her nomination, Biden cited Jackson’s unique qualifications – she will be the first former public defender of the Supreme Court – and that she had previously been confirmed by the Senate for the federal bench, gathering Republican votes in the Senate for the position.
“She has served both in the public service as a federal state attorney and in private law practice as a full-time attorney at a prestigious law firm,” the president said in notes to the White House with Jackson next to him. Vice President Kamala Harris was also there.
Liberals praised the election, citing Jackson’s background as a public defender. Republicans have proposed a more cautious response, with most Republican senators saying they will be open when they meet with her during the confirmation process.
Ketanji Brown Jackson said she was “really humble” by the nomination
Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., said Jackson’s election meant “the radical left has won over President Biden again.” Graham wanted Biden to choose a judge from his home state: South Carolina-based U.S. District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs.
“The leftist attacks on Judge Childs of South Carolina have obviously worked,” he added. Childs’ past work as an employment lawyer for management has complicated her position among the progressives.
“The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run without interruption,” Graham said. “I look forward to a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.”
Graham voted for Jackson to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia eight months ago, as did Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Markowski of Alaska.
Senator Mitch McConnell appears to have called Jackson inexperienced, noting that she published “two opinions in total” during her stay at the DC Federal Court of Appeals. She did write hundreds in her eight years in the district court.
“I voted against confirming Judge Jackson’s current position less than a year ago,” the Kentucky Republican said. “I also understand that Judge Jackson was the preferred choice of far-left groups with dark money who have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the court itself.”
“Having said that, I look forward to carefully reviewing Judge Jackson’s nomination during the vigorous and thorough Senate trial that the American people deserve.”