The U.S. Senate will soon hold a confirmation vote on President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and that vote is shaping up to be largely along party lines.
Retiring Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) announced Thursday that he would be a “No” vote on Jackson due to her “unsatisfactory” answers on the issue of “court-packing,” or adding additional jurists to expand the court’s size, Business Insider reported.
As the outlet noted, however, expansion of the Supreme Court isn’t something that Jackson would have any control over as it is something that could only be done by Congress.
“I cannot support Judge Jackson’s nomination”
In a statement released Thursday, Sen. Burr said of his recent one-on-one meeting with the nominee, “My top concern going into our meeting was ascertaining Judge Jackson’s position on radical proposals to pack the Supreme Court by expanding the number of justices.”
“Court-packing is a transparent power grab — one that would forever compromise the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the Supreme Court,” he continued. “Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer both rejected court-packing and the next justice who joins the Court should do the same.”
“Unfortunately, Judge Jackson’s answers on the question, in both her confirmation hearing and our personal discussion, continue to be unsatisfactory,” Burr added. “While she is undoubtedly highly qualified, knowledgeable, and experienced, based on our discussion, I cannot support Judge Jackson’s nomination when it comes before the Senate.”
McConnell also invokes a “court-packing” stance in opposition
The announcement from Sen. Burr came just a few days after a similar pronouncement from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in a Senate floor speech in which he listed several reasons why he “cannot and will not” support Judge Jackson’s nomination, one of which was the issue of court-packing.
McConnell pointed out how Jackson suggested the idea was “legitimate” and “testified that she has a view on the matter but would not share it.”
“But Judge Jackson seemingly tipped her hand. She said she would be, ‘thrilled to be one of however many'” justices Congress may determine, he added. “The most radical pro-court-packing fringe groups badly wanted this nominee for this vacancy. Judge Jackson was the court-packers’ pick. And she testified like it.”
Jackson may only receive one GOP confirmation vote
Politico reported earlier this week that, at least as of now, it appears that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is the only GOP senator to declare her intention to vote in support of confirming Judge Jackson to the nation’s highest court.
Last year, Collins was one of only three GOP senators to vote to confirm Jackson to her current position on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, with the other two Republicans being Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
Murkowski has yet to announce how she will vote on Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, but Insider noted that Graham has already stated his intention to now vote against the judge due to her apparent partisanship and ideological motivations.
