First change: 03/21/2022 17:48 Last change: 03/21/2022 17:46
WASHINGTON (AFP) The United States Senate on Monday began considering the historic Supreme Court nomination of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who would serve as the first black woman on the nation’s highest court.
The Senate Judiciary Committee began four days of hearings to confirm this 51yearold lawyer, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, who tweeted shortly before it began, highlighting her “brilliant” mind and her “great character and integrity.” . .
“She deserves to be confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice,” he adds.
“I ask the members of this committee, as we begin this historic confirmation process, to consider how history will judge each senator,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said during the opening.
Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominees have become a partisan battleground between Republicans and Democrats in recent years.
“Every court date is important because many matters are decided by the court” and many are burning social issues that move votes or motivate voters, like abortion or gun rights, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
Jackson would replace another Liberal judge, Stephen Breyer, who is retiring at 83.
His confirmation, Sabato said, will not change the balance of power on the pitch, which is dominated by a conservative 63 majority. “That alone lowers the risks and should contribute to easier confirmation,” he said.
Democrats have the votes by a slight advantage to confirm Jackson, an attorney who graduated from the prestigious Harvard University and has practiced as a federal public defender for indigent clients.
The 100seat Senate is split 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans. Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has the break vote.
“Republican Base”
“Inevitably, a few Republican senators will attack Jackson,” but his credentials seem to pave the way for him, despite party bickering, Sabato said.
The Conservatives have a 63 majority in the US Supreme Court Mandel NGAN AFP/Files
Even moderate Republican senators voted to confirm Jackson’s nomination for the US Circuit Court of Appeals just a year ago.
Still, several Republican lawmakers have criticized Biden for picking a black woman for the court, one of his campaign promises.
“Black women make up six percent of the population of the United States?” said Senator Ted Cruz. “They say 94 percent of Americans, ‘I don’t care.'”
Jackson has impeccable credentials, however, so another Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, warned her peers to tread carefully.
“Given that Democrats have unfortunately had some success trying to portray Republicans as antiblack, it might be harder to turn down a black lawyer,” Collins said.
“Alarming Pattern”
A frontal attack on Jackson could backfire on Republicans seven months before the congressional election.
Senator Mitch McConnel (C), leader of the Senate Republican minority, dismissed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s experience as a public defender between 2005 and 2007 MANDEL NGAN AFP/Files
But Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri conservative, has done so, pointing to what he calls an “alarming pattern” in the judge’s handling of sex offender cases, “particularly those that exploit children.”
Those comments were criticized by Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates: “This is toxic and poorly presented disinformation based on taking elements of his story out of context.”
Bates noted that Jackson had received support from several rightleaning police unions.
For his part, Senator Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, dismissed Jackson’s experience as a public defender between 2005 and 2007, an aspect touted by his supporters.
If her nomination is confirmed, Jackson will become the third African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court but the first black woman.
Thurgood Marshall served on the court from 1967 to 1991 and was succeeded by Clarence Thomas, 73, who remains on the post although he is currently hospitalized with an infection.
© 2022 AFP