North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Tuesday he did not have concerns about the timeline set out by the Democrats for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“It’s roughly in the same time line as [Justice Amy Coney] Barrett,” said Tillis. Barrett was nominated by then-President Donald Trump in fall 2020 and confirmed by the Senate on a fast-track schedule.
The remarks by Tillis, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, come a day after his fellow Republican Judiciary Committee member Sen. Chuck Grassley released a statement calling on Democrats to slow the confirmation process for Jackson after committee Chairman Dick Durbin scheduled her first hearing for March 21.
“From what I’ve seen it’s roughly in the same time line as Barrett … It doesn’t look like they’re falling outside the lines that we followed, to be honest with you,” Tillis told HuffPost on Tuesday.
GRASSLEY SAYS JACKSON SUPREME COURT CONFIRMATION HEARING PLAN SHOULD SLOW DOWN
Grassley’s statement on Monday called for a “thorough vetting process” of Jackson, echoing claims by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for lawmakers to study her “judicial philosophy” ahead of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee and an eventual Senate vote slated to take place next month.
“We should not sacrifice the integrity of our constitutional advice and consent responsibility to meet an arbitrary timeline,” Grassley said.
While Tillis’s statement stands at odds with Grassley’s guidance, the North Carolina lawmaker released a statement last month congratulating Jackson but noting that he voted against her during her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year.
“I had serious concerns she would legislate from the bench instead of following the Constitution and federal law as written,” Tillis said last month.
Republicans set forth the speedy template for confirming Supreme Court justices, as Barrett was confirmed just 30 days after her nomination.
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Jackson previously served on the bench for the U.S. District Court for D.C. from 2013 to 2021. She was nominated by President Joe Biden last month to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer when he steps down this year after the current term. If confirmed, she will become the first black woman to sit on the highest court.
The Washington Examiner contacted the office for Tillis but did not receive a response.
