South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham met with Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday ahead of her Senate Judiciary Committee hearings set to begin next week.
Graham, a Republican who previously declared, “The radical Left has won,” when President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to the highest court last month, was one of three GOP lawmakers who voted for her nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last year but has since raised stricter objections against her bid to become the next associate justice.
The South Carolina lawmaker is viewed as likely to oppose Jackson’s high court nomination after he pushed for Biden to nominate federal Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was also praised by Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn.
GOP SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM POISED TO OPPOSE BIDEN SUPREME COURT NOMINEE
Graham’s likely opposition to Jackson’s confirmation may have been further cemented on Tuesday, as several congressional reporters were quick to point out that his roughly 15-minute meeting with Jackson was brief compared to her meeting last week with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who spent more than an hour speaking to the nominee and lauded her as “impressive.”
Like Graham, Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were among the three Republicans to vote for Jackson’s appeals court nomination last year, though all three lawmakers have clearly noted they plan to await her hearings next week before making a final decision on her Supreme Court nomination.
The trio of Republican senators also have a track record of voting for at least 60% of Biden’s judicial nominees since he took office last year.
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Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Monday he would not give up hope on gaining Graham’s vote for Jackson, adding he plans to speak with him before Jackson’s hearings begin on March 21.
“I’m going to sit down with him. I’m sure he’ll be honest with me … I don’t pressure him. He’s come around and helped me on many, many occasions. But I want to sit down and talk to him … I want to see if he’s at least open to at least a conversation,” Durbin told the Hill.
