Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was contacted by the White House just four days after Justice Stephen Breyer announced his plans to retire from the bench, according to Senate Judiciary Committee documents.
“On January 30, 2022, White House Counsel Dana Remus contacted me concerning my potential nomination to the Supreme Court to fill the anticipated vacancy that would arise from Justice Breyer’s announced retirement,” Jackson said in the 149-page questionnaire to the committee charged with handling her confirmation process.
The nominee was also in contact with “White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain and officials from the White House Counsel’s Office and the White House Office of Presidential Personnel regarding my potential nomination and the nominations process.”
MCCONNELL TO MEET WITH SUPREME COURT NOMINEE JACKSON THIS WEEK
Jackson said she met with Vice President Kamala Harris via a Zoom call on Feb. 11 and interviewed with President Joe Biden three days later. Biden made his offer to Jackson on Thursday, one day before he announced her nomination at a White House press event on Friday.
The questionnaire also revealed she was not asked about specific issues or cases that could be heard before the Supreme Court and said nobody involved in the nomination process inquired as to how she would rule on specific issues if she is confirmed as a justice by the Senate.
The committee documents mirror a similar questionnaire Jackson submitted last year for her nomination to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which highlights her professional background and shows an overview of specific cases she has worked on throughout her career.
Of the 578 opinions she penned as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Jackson said 10 of the decisions were reversed partially or in whole by the circuit court, and four decisions were vacated by the appellate court and remanded. In three other district court decisions, her judgment was affirmed, but the Court of Appeals scrutinized the substantive ruling.
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“If confirmed to the Supreme Court, I will continue my present practice of using a recusal list to identify and avoid potential conflicts,” Jackson said on the new questionnaire, which also lists 12 cases she recused herself from while on the district court.
Prominent Democratic and Republican Senate leaders are expected to meet with Jackson on Wednesday as the process toward her confirmation has been set in motion. Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin has said his goal is to complete the process by April 9.
