This provided President Biden’s historical nominee at least one GOP vote towards her probable confirmation.
Collins stated in a statement that Collins had reviewed Judge Ketanji Jackson’s extensive records, listened to much of her hearing testimony and met with her twice in person. “I have concluded that she has the experience, qualifications and integrity to serve an associate justice on The Supreme Court.” Collins added. Collins stated that she would vote to confirm her in this position.
After meeting privately again Tuesday, Collins decided to support Jackson’s nomination for the Supreme Court. According to Collins, the meeting was a success and Jackson clarified certain issues for reporters.
Collins and Jackson met for the very first time in March. They stayed together for over 90 minutes. The New York Times reported that Collins would vote for confirmation of Jackson, who will become the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court if she is confirmed.
The White House had hoped that Jackson’s nomination would be approved by the Senate with bipartisan support. Collins’ support assures that this will occur. The confirmation of Jackson could be voted for by two other GOP senators, Sens. Senators Lisa Murkowski from Alaska and Mitt Romney from Utah, are seen as possibly voting to confirm Jackson.
Romney spoke with Jackson Tuesday to confirm that he would likely announce his decision at the Senate’s final vote. Murkowski, one the three Republicans that backed Jackson’s nomination for the federal appeals court in Washington had a one-on-1 meeting earlier this month.
Jackson was present before the Senate Judiciary Committee last Wednesday for a two-day marathon of questions from 22 Republican and Democratic members. Jackson has been meeting with senators in preparation for the Monday vote by the committee on whether or not to move her nomination to the Senate’s floor.
Democratic leaders want to hold the final vote in Jackson’s confirmation before April 8th, when the Senate goes on a two-week recess.
At the end of February, Mr. Biden named Jackson as his nominee for Justice Stephen Breyer’s replacement. Jackson, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit, was the first Black woman to be elected to the Supreme Court. She will again if the Senate approves of her nomination.
During her confirmation hearings that lasted a total four days, Republicans from the Judiciary Committee focused on Jackson’s sentencing record for child pornography cases as a judge on the Washington federal district court. They claimed that Jackson imposed lenient sentences well below the federal guidelines.
Other GOP senators criticised Jackson for not putting a label on her judiciary philosophy as well as the clients she represented in her capacity as federal public defender, and refusing to position herself on the addition of seats to the Supreme Court during the hearings.
Collins stated that she had discussed with Jackson several issues raised during her confirmation hearings.
“Sometimes, I agreed with her; other times, I disagreed.” She stated in her statement that she had disagreed with her decisions. “But that alone is not enough to disqualify.”
Collins voted for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominees by Republican and Democratic presidents throughout her time in the Senate, including Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, who were nominated respectively by former President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama.
However, she did not support Justice Amy Coney Barrett due to the close proximity of her confirmation vote for the 2020 presidential election.
Collins expressed regret at the shifting nature of Supreme Court confirmation battles. She said that the Senate’s role in examining nominees for the high court was “not to evaluate whether a nominee reflects an ideology of an individual Senator or would rule exactly the way an individual Senator would want.”
She stated that “No matter your ideological affiliation, anyone who has seen several of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings will conclude that the process is broken.” “Partly because the process has shifted away from what I consider appropriate for evaluating Supreme Court nominees in recent years.”
Jackson, who holds 50 Senate seats, does not require Republican support to be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. Vice President Kamala Harris would vote to break the tie. Dick Durbin (a Democrat from Illinois) said earlier this month that he had been trying to convince Republicans to support Jackson. He stated, “This is a moment of the United States’ history, and I always try to be on right side of history.”
