Both NC senators against Supreme Court nomination, though Jackson ‘highly qualified’

Neither of North Carolina’s senators supported Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Republican Sen. Richard Burr announced last week he would oppose her confirmation to the country’s highest court, a day after his fellow Republican Sen. Thom Tillis had said the same. They followed through on Thursday, voting against her confirmation.

She was confirmed regardless, in a 53-47 vote. Every Democratic senator voted for her, as did three Republican senators: Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Every other Republican voted against her.

Jackson will now become the first Black female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, confirming Democratic President Joe Biden’s campaign promise to make that happen. She is set to formally take office this summer, after Justice Stephen Breyer retires. He has been on the court since 1994.

Burr and Tillis both said they believed Jackson was qualified for a seat on the nation’s highest court, and that their opposition wasn’t based on her legal aptitude.

“While she is undoubtedly highly qualified, knowledgeable, and experienced, based on our discussion, I cannot support Judge Jackson’s nomination when it comes before the Senate,” Burr said last week. He didn’t make further comments Thursday when he cast his vote.

Both Burr and Tillis said they opposed Jackson because when they asked her for her personal views on the possibility of adding more justices to the Supreme Court in the future — an idea often called “court packing” — they thought she avoided the question.

“Court packing is a transparent power grab — Justice (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg and Justice (Stephen) Breyer both rejected court packing and the next justice who joins the court should do the same,” Burr said last week. “Unfortunately, Judge Jackson’s answers on the question, both in her confirmation hearing and our personal discussion, continue to be unsatisfactory.”

If the Supreme Court ever were to be expanded in size, it would have to be done by Congress, not by the court itself, although Tillis indicated that a justice’s opinion on the topic is relevant anyway.

Tillis questioned Jackson both privately and in committee about court-packing, and she wouldn’t commit to whether she supported adding justices to the Supreme Court. Tillis said he would only vote to do so if the Supreme Court convinced him it was necessary because of an increased caseload.

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This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 2:46 PM.