US Senate Debates Nomination of First Black Woman to Supreme Court

The Senate of United States began this Monday to debate the historical nomination of the black judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, with the Democrats trying to make it happen without fanfare and the Republicans willing to ask incisive questions.

The Senate Judiciary Committee began four days of confirmation hearings for this 51-year-old jurist, nominated by the president Joe Bidenwho just before the start published a tweet in which he highlighted his mind “shiny” and his “great character and integrity.”

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“She deserves to be confirmed as the next Supreme Court Justice”he added.

“I ask the members of this committee, as we begin this historic confirmation process, to consider how history will judge each senator.”said the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, during the opening.

Despite his talent,the members of the Court have never represented the nation they serve”he said, adding that of his 115 judges, he had only two black men and five women and none of them African-American.

“You could be the first and it is never easy to be the first. Many times it has to be the best, sometimes the bravest, ” he added, thanking him “let him face” to these marathon hearings, to which the judge arrived smiling and apparently calm.

“Due to the historical dimension of the photo (…), we would be racist if we asked difficult questions”, but “we are used to it”Republican Senator Lindsey Graham reacted. The discussion will be “respectful”, “we will not put on a show, but we will ask scathing questions”said.

Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominees have become a partisan battleground in recent years between Republicans and Democrats because “many matters are decided in itlike abortion or gun rights, said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

Jackson would replace another liberal justice, Stephen Breyer, who is retiring at 83.

His confirmation, Sabato said, will not change the balance of power on the court, which is dominated by a 6-3 conservative majority.

The Democrats, with a slight advantage, have the votes to confirm Jackson, a lawyer graduated from the prestigious Harvard University, who practiced as a federal public defender for indigent clients.

The 100-member Senate is split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has the tiebreaking vote.

Even moderate Republican senators voted just a year ago to confirm Jackson’s nomination to the US Circuit Court of Appeals.

Still, several Republican lawmakers have criticized Biden for choosing a black woman to the court, one of his campaign promises.

“Black women are, what, six percent of the population of United States?”said Senator Ted Cruz. “You’re telling 94 percent of Americans ‘I don’t care.'”

“Alarming pattern”

A frontal assault on Jackson could backfire for Republicans seven months before the midterm congressional elections.

But Senator Josh Hawley, a conservative from Missouri, has done so, lashing out at what he considers “an alarming pattern” in how the judge has managed cases of sexual offenders, “especially those who prey on children.”

Those comments were criticized by White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates: “This is toxic and poorly presented misinformation that relies on taking elements of his history with a pinch of salt out of context.”

Bates noted that Jackson has received support from several police unions, which tend to lean to the right.

For his part, Senator Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, dismissed Jackson’s experience between 2005 and 2007 as a public defender.

If his nomination is confirmed, Jackson will be the third African-American on the Supreme Court, but the first black woman.

Thurgood Marshall served on the court from 1967 to 1991 and was succeeded by Clarence Thomas, 73, who remains in the post, although he is currently hospitalized with an infection.

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Source: Elcomercio

Deshawn