Here’s How Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court Confirmation Process Is Expected To Play Out

Topline

President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday kicked off what’s expected to be a swift Senate confirmation process—here’s what to expect as Democrats push to place the first Black woman on the high court.

Key Facts

The Senate Judiciary Committee will first hold hearings on the nomination and vote on whether to approve the nominee—their recommendation then goes to the full Senate, where the nominee can be confirmed with a simple majority of votes.

Senate Judiciary chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Friday the Senate will start the confirmation process “immediately” and said before Jackson was named that his aim was to confirm the nominee by the time the Senate starts its Easter recess on April 9.

Republicans on the committee could use procedural methods to try and hold up Jackson’s confirmation, but Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) signaled Friday he’s unlikely to do so, saying he has “no intention of degrading the [Senate’s]
advice and consent role” and “intend[s] to show up and do the job that Iowans pay me to do.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has signaled he’ll vote against Jackson, but CNN reported earlier in February that GOP leadership is unlikely to try to block her confirmation entirely, given her appointment won’t change the court’s 6-3 conservative tilt and the potentially poor optics of opposing a Black woman being confirmed to the court.

Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted for Jackson’s confirmation to the D.C. Circuit last year, but none have committed to backing her Supreme Court bid yet, and Graham has suggested he may oppose it, criticizing Biden for giving into the “radical left” with his choice.

Jackson could be confirmed without any GOP support as long as Democrats retain the Senate majority and all 50 Democrats vote for her, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as a tie breaker.

Crucial Quote

“We will begin immediately to move forward on her nomination with the careful, fair, and professional approach she and America are entitled to,” Durbin said Friday.

What We Don’t Know

Whether anything unexpected could threaten Senate Democrats’ majority. If just one senator unexpectedly resigns or is temporarily unable to serve, Republicans would take control of the chamber, allowing them to stymie the vote if they wanted to. One recent wild card for Democrats has been Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), who was hospitalized in early February after suffering a stroke. Luján has since returned to Washington and said last week he would be back in the Senate “soon,” however, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Friday he didn’t believe Luján’s absence would “stand in the way of us moving quickly” on Jackson’s confirmation.

Key Background

Biden nominated Jackson to the Supreme Court on Friday to fill the vacancy left by Justice Stephen Breyer’s imminent retirement. Jackson served as a federal district judge, public defender and clerk to Breyer prior to starting at the D.C. Circuit Court last year, and Biden hailed the judge’s “uniquely accomplished and wide-ranging background” Friday while announcing her nomination. The left-leaning Breyer had been under heavy pressure from Democrats to retire while the party has control of both the Senate and White House in order to ensure a smooth confirmation process, after McConnell blocked Obama nominee Merrick Garland from being confirmed to the court in 2016 and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s refusal to retire during the Obama administration led to her being replaced by conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Jackson’s confirmation to the court would not change its 6-3 conservative tilt, but would ensure that the seat will likely remain occupied by a left-leaning justice for decades to come, given Jackson is only 51 years old.

Further Reading

Biden Names Ketanji Brown Jackson To Supreme Court. Here’s What We Know About Her. (Forbes)

Ketanji Brown Jackson Confirmation: 3 GOP Senators Who Voted For Supreme Court Nominee In Past Won’t Promise To Do It Again (Forbes)

Republicans Have Already Started Attacking Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson (Forbes)