Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar met with Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Thursday, claiming that the high court hopeful had more judicial experience than “four people who are already on the Supreme Court — not that we’re keeping track.”
Jackson, who became a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2013 before her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year, has been meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week in the buildup toward her confirmation hearings later this month.
“I already was at one of her confirmation hearings and saw the kind of partisan support that she got, which I think is important,” Klobuchar said during her meeting with Jackson. “I also think it’s really interesting to have someone with a background as a public defender and also have a brother who’s a police officer and an uncle who was a police chief.”
“She has more experience as a judge than four of the people who are already on the Supreme Court — not that we’re keeping track.”
— Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) during meeting with SCOTUS nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson pic.twitter.com/KofXso8azW
— The Recount (@therecount) March 3, 2022
FORMER JUDGE AND REAGAN, BUSH APPOINTEE ENDORSES KETANJI BROWN JACKSON
Last year, Jackson testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee panel when its members voted 13-9 to send her nomination to become a judge on the appeals court off to the Senate floor.
Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John Cornyn voted with Democrats in the committee to advance Jackson, and she later received the backing of GOP Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Graham, confirming Jackson in a 53-44 vote.
Some policy advocacy organizations — such as Heritage Action, a conservative group — have come out against Jackson in recent statements and highlighted “radical positions,” including an unsigned “note” she authored for the Harvard Law Review in 1996 calling for judges to alter their standards for evaluating the constitutionality of certain state sex offender statutes. She recently disclosed her authorship of the statement as part of a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire.
“In the current climate of fear, hatred, and revenge associated with the release of convicted sex criminals, courts must be especially attentive to legislative enactments that ‘use public health and safety rhetoric to justify procedures that are, in essence, punishment and detention,'” Jackson wrote at the time.
While some conservative figures, including retired judges, have supported Jackson’s nomination and lauded her chance at becoming the first black woman on the Supreme Court, it remains to be seen whether lawmakers will raise any vehement objections as Democrats seek her confirmation by mid-April. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he will consider “judicial philosophy” as a major qualification for the nominee.
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And Lindsey Curnutte, a spokeswoman for Heritage Action, told the Washington Examiner that the group would be looking to ensure conservative lawmakers are well informed on Jackson’s background ahead of her confirmation.
“We’re looking more to making sure that these solid conservatives on the Judiciary Committee ask the tough questions and in the hearings and are making sure they’re making a full analysis of what her record shows,” Curnutte said.
