Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court Vote Deadlocks In Senate Committee

Topline

The Senate Judiciary Committee split 11-11 Monday on whether to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation, as no Republicans backed her—but her nomination can still go to the full Senate for a vote, as the even split just means the Senate will have to go through extra procedural steps and an additional vote to move it forward.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in during her confirmation hearing before … [+] the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 21.

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Key Facts

Democrats hailed Jackson’s confirmation Monday as she’s poised to become the first Black woman appointed to the court, with committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) saying the committee’s vote was a “historic moment for the committee, and for America” and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) saying her confirmation would be “a giant leap into the present.”

Many Republicans praised Jackson personally—Sen. Thom Tiillis (R-N.C.) said he told her parents they “clearly raised her right”—but painted her as “extreme” and said they wouldn’t vote to confirm her because of her record, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) claiming Jackson would be “the furthest left justice ever to serve on the Supreme Court.”

Democrats decried Republicans’ attacks as “hypocritical” and an attempt to “smear” Jackson “with unfair and ugly accusations,” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said, despite Jackson’s record being widely supported by legal experts and victims advocates groups and in line with even conservative judges’ actions.

Under Senate rules, Durbin can now still send the tied vote to the full Senate.

The Senate will debate whether Jackson should move forward and vote on whether to put Jackson’s confirmation vote on the chamber’s calendar, with only a simple majority needed to pass.

It’s unlikely there will be any issues with the Senate vote to move forward with the confirmation, given Jackson is expected to have a majority of senators backing her.

What To Watch For

The full Senate vote on her confirmation is expected likely Thursday or Friday, NBC News reports, depending on whether Republicans try to use delay tactics at all.

Tangent

Monday’s vote was delayed by several hours, after committee member Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) had issues with his flight back to Washington, D.C., from Los Angeles and was unable to make the committee meeting earlier on Monday.

Crucial Quote

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) quoted poet Maya Angelou during his speech Monday in support of Jackson, reciting, “You may try to write me down in history with your bitter, twisted lies. You may trod me down in the very dirt, but still, like dust, I rise.” “When we have that final vote, I will rejoice, ancestors will rejoice, and we will say, ‘Lord, this is a day that you have made,’” Booker said.

Chief Critic

“My fundamental disagreement with Judge Jackson is not based on her character or her integrity or her accomplishments. I think those things are beyond question,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Monday ahead of the committee vote. “It’s based on her policy and her philosophy. And I think on these core issues she is just dead wrong.”

What We Don’t Know

How many Republicans will support Jackson’s full Senate vote. Though no GOP senators on the Judiciary Committee backed her, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has already said she will vote for Jackson. It remains to be seen whether any of her colleagues will join her: most Republicans have already come out against Jackson, but Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have said they’re still undecided.

Key Background

Jackson is a federal judge who’s previously served as a public defender and on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. She will be the first Black woman on the court if confirmed, and will replace Justice Stephen Breyer when he retires this summer at the end of the court’s term. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee signaled during the recent confirmation hearings they wouldn’t back Jackson, with GOP senators including Ted Cruz (Texas), Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) aggressively going after Jackson’s sentencing record for child pornography offenders and history of representing Guantanamo Bay detainees as a public defender. Republicans’ misgivings with Jackson’s treatment of child pornography offenders, which they claim was too lenient, has been widely decried by legal experts, including the American Bar Association, federal sentencing experts and retired federal judges.

Surprising Fact

Graham, who voted against Jackson Monday, actually voted in favor of the judge’s confirmation to the D.C. Circuit Court last year. He said last week he wouldn’t support her this time based on her child pornography sentences, representation of Guantanamo Bay prisoners and handling of an immigration case in which she ruled against the Trump administration, and accused Democrats of acting unfairly by supporting Jackson but opposing more conservative judges of color in the past.

Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court Vote Deadlocks In Senate Committee—Here’s Why She’ll Still Be Confirmed