U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, R-Kan., announced Friday that he would oppose Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, even though it appears she will receive the necessary support to be confirmed.
In a statement, Marshall said he listened to two days of hearings and conducted “a thorough and thoughtful review of her qualifications and court record” before concluding that he “cannot support her confirmation”.
He specifically pointed to past criminal law handling as a lawyer, arguing that Jackson lacked the experience to serve as a judge on the nation’s highest court. Jackson was a federal attorney in 2013 but spent a year on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
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“I believe she will endorse Biden’s far-left agenda rather than protect the Constitution and our Kansas values,” Marshall said. “There is no way I can support her in good faith to become an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.”
A simple majority of 51 out of 100 senators must vote yes to confirm Jackson. The Senate is split evenly between 50 Democratic caucus members and 50 Republican members, and Vice President Kamala Harris would break the tie, giving the Democrats the majority.
Republicans have yet to announce Jackson and some have already said they will oppose her.
Speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday, GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that “after studying the nominee’s record and watching her performance this week, I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson for a lifetime nomination.” to our highest court.”
McConnell’s opposition is not surprising and likely predicts the position of the vast majority of the GOP caucus.
In sometimes bitter quirks during confirmation hearings this week, Republicans pushed the judge on her track record by convicting defendants in child pornography cases, her views on how to pack up in court and as a federal public defender representing inmates at Guantanamo Bay. She was questioned on other topics, including critical race theory, court packaging, and gender.
Some Republican moderates, most notably Maine Senator Susan Collins or Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, may decide to support Jackson. They both voted yes to her nomination to her current position, as did South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, whose aggressive questions and apparent dissatisfaction with some of her answers in this week’s hearings indicate he will no longer vote to support her. .
West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin said Friday that he plans to vote yes to Jackson’s nomination, effectively guaranteeing it will be confirmed.
Andrew Bahl is a senior statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 443-979-6100.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Roger Marshall to Oppose Ketanji Brown Jackson in U.S. Supreme Court
