Jackson’s nomination to Supreme Court is ‘historic,’ Sen. Thom Tillis says
Sen. Thom Tillis told Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on Monday afternoon that her nomination for the U.S Supreme Court fulfills not only her dream but the dream of many others.
“We should also recognize the historic nature of this event, the first African American female to be put forth for confirmation for the Supreme Court is quite extraordinary,” Tillis said.
President Joe Biden nominated Jackson, 51, to replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced he would retire at the end of the 2021-2022 term.
During Tillis’ opening statement Monday, the North Carolina Republican didn’t commit to vote for or against Jackson, saying he has some concerns she needs to address in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
He said that when he first met with Jackson on March 10, he asked why she would put herself through such a grueling process.
“You said it really is the pinnacle of your profession,” Tillis said, talking directly to Jackson Monday. “And I guess in many respects, this is a realization of a dream of yours, but I also think that it’s probably putting within reach for many young boys and girls, young men and women, the reality that they, too, could be here before the Senate, being considered for confirmation to the highest court in the land.”
He listed off the qualities he appreciated in Jackson: ethical values, honesty, integrity, compassion, respect for others and endeavoring to be fair. He thanked her for being honest and forthcoming when she answered his questions in their initial meetings.
But Tillis also issued a few words of warning to her.
He said he doesn’t want any activists on the U.S. Supreme Court.
“I reject the notion that the Constitution is a living, evolutionary document that changes based on the impulses of five unelected justices,” Tillis said. “A good judge must understand that his or her job isn’t to legislate from the bench and read in their preferred policy outcomes into statutes. If the words of a statute are clear, a good judge will reach a decision based on those words, and those words alone, even if it creates an outcome they disagree with personally.”
All 22 Judiciary Committee members gave opening statements Monday, before Jackson gave her own. Senators will use the following three days to ask Jackson questions before determining whether to confirm her to the country’s highest court.
Madison Cawthorn, Greg Murphy seek investigation
Not all of North Carolina’s delegation was happy to see Jackson’s nomination.
Reps. Madison Cawthorn and Greg Murphy, both Republicans representing North Carolina, were two of 19 lawmakers who wrote a letter calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate what Murphy called Jackson’s “soft-on-crime record.”
In the letter, the members of Congress accused Jackson of giving sentences far below federal guidelines on at least three child pornography cases.
It’s one of the many criticisms Jackson has faced since her nomination related to crime, which the Associated Press and the Washington Post have examined in detail. The Post compared Jackson’s decisions on sentences to what the federal guidelines, U.S. probation officers, prosecutors and defense lawyers recommended at the time.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 5:33 PM.
