Chris Lange, FISM News
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote today to advance the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, with a full-Senate vote expected by the end of the week.
All 11 GOP members on the committee are expected to vote against Jackson’s advancement, citing a troubling record of “regular misuse of judicial authority to impose liberal preferences instead of what the law demands” in a statement.
Jackson has come under heavy criticism for her record of giving light sentences in child pornography cases, some of which involved torture, according to reporting by the New York Post.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) referred to Jackson’s soft-on-crime judgments as “appalling” in a retweet of the Post article.
“Judge Jackson imposed sentences 57% less than national average for possession of child pornography,” tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “She also imposed sentences 47% less than the national average for distribution of child pornography,” he added.
However, it’s not just politicians who are troubled by Jackson’s judicial record. A recent Rasmussen poll shows that 65% of U.S. voters are concerned with the nominee’s record on child porn cases. What is even more remarkable from this poll is that 45% of Democrats were also concerned by her record.
This coincides with Sen. Graham’s statement prior to the Committee’s vote. Graham noted that while Biden had every right to choose someone who aligned with his philosophies, but “this choice of Judge Jackson was really embraced by the most radical people in the Democratic movement, to the exclusion of everybody else. After four days of hearings, I now know why the left likes her so much.” He then added, “[The White House] feels it must pick someone who is more appealing to the hard left. We’ll see how that plays out.”
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee cite Jackson’s judgments as reason for their support, saying “she is an exceptionally well-qualified jurist whose credentials, experience, and even-handed approach to the administration of justice make her an outstanding nominee to the Supreme Court” in a statement.
A split committee vote does not kill Jackson’s nomination; however, it will require Senate Democrats to spend extra time on bringing the matter to the floor.
So far, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is the only Republican who has thrown her support behind Jackson, all but ensuring a confirmation that only needs 50 Senate Democrats for approval, with Vice President Kamala Harris on standby to break a potential tie.
As of this writing, the Committee was in recess, awaiting Senator Padilla (CA-D), who was experiencing travel issues, to arrive before they held the vote.