President Joe Biden stated Friday that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, his nominee to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, has “respect for how the law impacts everyday people.”
“For too long our government, our courts haven’t looked like America, and I believe it is time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications,” Biden said while opening his nationally televised introduction of Jackson.
BIDEN TAPS KETANJI BROWN JACKSON AS SUPREME COURT NOMINEE
The president specifically cited Jackson’s family law enforcement ties and her 2021 confirmation to serve on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals as key factors for his selection before praising her judicial opinions.
“Her opinions are always carefully reasoned, tethered to precedent, and demonstrate respect for how the law impacts everyday people. It doesn’t mean she puts her thumb on the scale of justice one way or the other, but she understands the broader impact of the decisions whether it’s cases addressing the rights of workers or in government service,” he continued. “She cares about making sure that our democracy works for the American people. She listens. She looks people in the eye — lawyers, defendants, victims, and families. She strives to ensure that everyone understands why she made a decision, what the law is, and what it means to them. She strives to be fair, to get it right to do justice. That’s something all of us should remember.”
Biden first became familiar with Jackson while assisting former President Barack Obama vet potential Supreme Court nominees after the death of Antonin Scalia. She was also on the short list of potential future nominees put together by the Biden campaign in 2020, and Jackson was the first of eight black women nominated by Biden in 2021 to serve as appellate judges.
Jackson is viewed as significantly more liberal than the other candidates on Biden’s Supreme Court short list. Russell Wheeler of the Brookings Institution previously told the Washington Examiner he suspects her nomination “may be an effort on the part of the White House to placate the progressives in the judiciary as [Biden] had little interest in their demands of Supreme Court revision, whether it be a change in the number of justices or term limits.”
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is related to Jackson by marriage, was one of the few Republicans to praise her nomination.
“Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family,” he wrote on Twitter. “Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal.”
Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family. Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal.
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) February 25, 2022
Republicans at large harshly condemned Jackson’s nomination.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who joined other members of the South Carolina delegation in openly stumping for Judge Michelle Childs, released a cryptic statement suggesting a dicier-than-expected confirmation process due to Democrats’ slim control of the Senate.
Despite being one of only three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson to her appellate post, Graham tweeted Friday her Supreme Court nomination “means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again.”
“The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked. I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee,” he continued. “The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated.”
I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 25, 2022
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You can watch Biden and Jackson’s remarks in full below.
