Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson withstands GOP attacks during confirmation hearings for Supreme Court

Political watchers suspected that the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to join the Supreme Court would be tough but they never expected some of it to border on insanity.

GOP members of the Senate took turns in an orchestrated attempt during three days of confirmation hearings to get Jackson to admit to a number of things that were not in her record or had nothing to do with her role as a judge. 

Jackson was grilled and when attempting to respond, she was rudely and repeatedly interrupted, she was met with claims from GOP senators that she was soft on child pornography offenders and aggressively grilled for her take on culture war issues, including critical race theory, school choice, and affirmative action.

Jackson was also questioned about her voting record and sentencing practices. One of the biggest offenders of the hearing was Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz who drilled Jackson about critical race theory, which Jackson pointed out does not relate to her work as a judge. Foolishly, Cruz even went so far as to use a blowup of the children’s book “Antiracist Baby” to ask Jackson if she thinks babies are racist. 

With grace and the patience of the biblical figure Job who displayed patience and conviction in the face of adversity, Jackson withstood the attacks and rude behavior shown to her by these senators. She answered questions and told her truth with her husband and daughters sitting behind her. Many media outlets around the country applauded Jackson and said she deserved praise for making it through the outlandish questioning that was occurring in front of the American public.

Following over the top questioning by three Republicans in a row, it was New Jersey Senator Cory Booker’s turn to speak. Booker brought the attention and the room back to Jackson and the special moment that was occurring in America. Booker also pointed to the elephant in the room, that the majority of justices who have served on the Supreme court have been white men and how Jackson was shattering a glass ceiling, which many did not want to be shattered by a Black woman. Booker went on to say she was doing it because she is an extraordinarily qualified human being.” The Senator brought Jackson to tears as he highlighted the historical significance of her nomination and he told her, “You have earned this spot. You are worthy. You are a great American.”

It is unclear at this time if Jackson will garner any support from Republicans but she may not need it. Jackson needs 51 out of 100 votes to be approved for the bench. There are 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the U.S. Senate and Vice President Kamala Harris has the tiebreaker vote. 

Senate Democrats are reportedly hoping for a full vote for Jackson’s confirmation next month. West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, a key swing vote in the Senate, announced on March 25 his intentions to vote for Jackson, which political pundits said is a strong indication that she will get all of the votes from the Democrats.