republican senator Ben SasseBen SasseWaPo: Senate GOP treated Jackson ‘worse’ than Democrats treated Kavanaugh (Neb.) announced on Friday that he would not vote to confirm the judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the Supreme Court.
Sasse, a member of the judiciary committee, pointed out that Jackson did not clearly label his judicial philosophy in his decision to vote “no” on his confirmation.
“Judge Jackson is an extraordinary person with an extraordinary American history. We both love this country, but we disagree on the judicial philosophy and unfortunately I cannot vote for this confirmation,” Sasse said in a statement.
“Judge Jackson has impeccable credentials and a thorough knowledge of the law, but at every turn this week, she not only refused to claim originality as a judicial philosophy, she refused to claim any judicial philosophy,” a- he added.
Sasse joins Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell to vote against Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination GOP defeats Supreme Court boycott The Hill’s Morning Report – Tension mounts at Jackson hearing MORE (R-Ky.) announcing a vote against Jackson.
His decision comes after Jackson was questioned by the Senate for hours this week, answering questions from Democrats and Republicans.
Some Republicans have focused on Jackson’s record of his conviction in child pornography cases and used the high-profile hearings to discuss critical race theory.
“Like much of our public square, the Supreme Court confirmation process is broken and does not build confidence in either the Senate or the Supreme Court. Senators should have given fewer speeches and Justice Jackson should have returned his judicial philosophy clear and understandable to the American people,” Sasse said. “Unfortunately, none of those things happened.
Jackson’s nomination must first go through the Judiciary Committee, where an 11-11 tie between Republicans and Democrats could occur. If that happens, additional procedural steps are required when the vote reaches the full Senate, adding hours of time to the process.
