Jackson seems to be on a smooth path to confirmation by mid April, even if President Joe Biden doesn’t get the bipartisan votes she wants. As long as all Democrats support her, Democrats can confirm Jackson without one Republican vote in 50-50 Senate. Kamala Harris, Vice President, can end a tie.
On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin decided to vote for April 4. He also praised Jackson’s answers in four days of hearings that were often contentious. The hearings were dominated by the sentencing decisions she made in a few child pornography cases in her nine-year tenure as a federal judge. This was to portray her as too soft on criminals.
Durbin criticised the Republican focus on the topic, saying that the GOP senators asked the “toughest, most meanest questions” and then raced to Twitter to find out if someone was tweeting. Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, one of those Republicans who repeatedly asked Jackson about pornography cases, spoke out to defend her colleagues and said the questioning wasn’t an attack.
As Republicans tried to portray Democrats as being soft on crime, the partisan spat threatened Jackson’s confirmation. Durbin, who, like Biden, wants a bipartisan vote in the historic nomination, stated that he hopes other Republicans will not be discouraged by the back-and forth when considering whether to support it.
No Republicans have yet to say they will vote for the senator. Senator Mitch McConnell, from Kentucky, was the GOP leader and cited Republicans’ concerns regarding her sentencing history as well as her support by liberal advocacy groups in declaring Thursday that he “cannot” and would not vote for her.
Maine Senator Susan Collins met with Jackson earlier this month for over an hour and a quarter. She is most likely to vote for Jackson. Collins stated that she believes Jackson applies the law to each case with a thorough and careful approach. This is what Collins wants to see in a judge.
Jackson would be the third Black justice after Thurgood Marshall or Clarence Thomas and the sixth woman. Jackson would be the court’s first ex-public defender and the first justice to have experience representing indigent criminal defendants, since Marshall.
Jackson responded to Republicans’ questions regarding her sentencing for child pornography crime sentencing. She said that sentencing was not a “numbers games” and that there is much debate about the subject. Jackson stated that some of the cases she was involved in were “among my worst ever.”
Andrew Bates, White House spokesperson, stated Monday that the questioning was done in “bad faith” and that many Republicans voted for GOP-nominated Judges who had sentenced defendants under federal guidelines like Jackson.
A week of procedural maneuvers will be held on the Senate floor in preparation for the April 4 vote. These maneuvers are designed to secure Jackson’s confirmation before the end of this week. Durbin stated that he still hopes for some Republican votes before then.
Durbin stated, “I strongly urge both my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to look at this lady and what she will bring the Court.” She is the best and she deserves our support.
