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Graham Announces Opposition to Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court Nomination
On Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), revealed that he will oppose the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court Nomination, which is a notable flip from a year ago when Graham approved Jackson to an appellate court, one of three Republican senators who did so.
Graham revealed his opposition while speaking from the Senate floor on Thursday. He cited Jackson’s record during her time as a judge in the federal courts, sentencing child pornography offenders with sentences lesser than what guidelines have stated.
“I oppose and will vote against the nomination of Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court,” the senator said. “My decision is based upon her record of judicial activism, flawed sentencing methodology regarding child pornography cases, and a belief that Judge Jackson will not be deterred by the plain meaning of the law when it comes to liberal causes,” he went on to say.
Last year, Jackson earned three GOP votes during her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. These three include Graham, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski.
Murkowski has yet to announce how she’ll vote. On the other hand, Collins revealed this week that she will support Jackson, giving the White House some kind of bipartisan support for President Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee.
Graham Describes Jackson as an “Evasive” Witness
Graham is known to be one of the toughest questioners of Jackson during Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. He put special focus on how Jackson sentenced child pornography offenders. On Thursday, the senator described her as an “evasive” witness and further decried Jackson’s record of failing to use two sentencing enhancement factors while serving as a federal judge. According to Graham, this would serve as a deterrent to the “explosion of child pornography on the internet.”
“I find Judge Jackson to be a person of exceptionally good character, respected by her peers, and someone who has worked hard to achieve her current position,” Graham stated. “However, her record is overwhelming in its lack of a steady judicial philosophy and a tendency to achieve outcomes in spite of what the law requires or common sense would dictate.”
Graham became a vocal opponent of Jackson once Biden had announced that she was his nominee. The president passed over Graham’s pick in favor of Jackson, who the senator has called “the favorite of the Radical Left.”
According to Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), Jackson did well during her confirmation hearings for standing her ground against Graham. King mentioned that Graham still seemed annoyed that the president didn’t choose his pick, which is Judge J. Michelle Childs.
Next week, the Senate is expected to place their vote regarding Jackson’s confirmation. If successful, Jackson will make history as the first African-American woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
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