He also reportedly drew looks of surprise when he asked Jackson, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how faithful would you say you are, in terms of religion?”
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., chided Graham later in the day, asking Jackson, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how deep is your faith that I won’t ask that question?”
A judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Jackson repeatedly defended herself as an impartial jurist whose rulings stem from the law.
“I don’t think anyone could look at my record and say that it is pointing in one direction or another, that it is supporting one viewpoint or another,” she told Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the panel’s ranking member.
Jackson also declined requests from Durbin and Grassley to share her views on court packing, the prospect of increasing the number of seats on the Supreme Court. She referred to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the third nominee of former President Donald Trump, who had also refused to opine on that issue during her confirmation hearings.
“My North Star is the consideration of the proper role of a judge in our constitutional scheme,” Jackson said. “In my view judges should not be speaking to political issues.”
She also drew attention to her work as a public defender, a piece of her resume praised by Democrats who say Jackson’s experience will bring much-needed perspective to the Supreme Court. Jackson would become the first former public defender to serve on the top U.S. bench.
The senators, who each had 30 minutes to question Jackson, brought their own issues of nearest concern to the table, even if they were not always directly related to the Supreme Court nomination. For instance, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., spoke at length about the influence of conservative dark-money groups on judicial nominations.
The hourslong proceedings were temporarily derailed for a few minutes by a dispute between Republican and Democratic committee members about the timing of the disclosure of some documents related to a child-porn case that Jackson oversaw.
To join the Supreme Court, Jackson will need at least 50 votes in the evenly split Senate. Vice President Kamala Harris holds a tie-breaking vote for her fellow Democrats and the two independents who routinely vote with the party.
If there are no defectors, Democrats have the ability to confirm Jackson without any Republican support – a fact that some senators acknowledged during Tuesday’s hearing.
“This is very likely the last job interview you’ll ever have,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.
“These processes are a lot like a proctology exam,” he added.
If confirmed, Jackson would succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring. Her confirmation would replace one liberal justice with another, maintaining the court’s 6-3 conservative majority.
President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to the Supreme Court in February. Jackson has served on the D.C. Circuit appeals court, the nation’s highest-profile appeals court, since last year.
She won Senate confirmation with support from every Democrat and three Republicans.
No Democrats so far have indicated they will vote against Jackson.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/22/supreme-court-pick-ketanji-brown-jackson-senate-confirmation-hearings.html