Ketanji Brown Jackson Thoughtfully Defeats GOP Senators After Dumb Questions

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Caleb Newton
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Republican Senators have been all over the place in their questioning of Biden Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, and this Wednesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) decided to use Jackson’s confirmation process to whine about Brett Kavanaugh. Addressing Jackson, Graham complained, “You’ve lived an incredible life, but here’s one thing that won’t happen to you as we wrap this up. How would you feel… if I’d had a letter from somebody accusing you of something — a crime or misconduct — for weeks, and I’d give it to Senator Durbin just before this hearing’s over, and not allow you to comment on the accusation?” Jackson replied, “Senator, I’m not sure. I don’t understand the context of the question.”

After a bit of back-and-forth, Graham subsequently launched into a recounting of how sexual assault allegations against then-U.S. Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh weren’t immediately revealed once obtained by certain Democrats. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) originally said that an individual saying they were a victim of Kavanaugh “strongly requested confidentiality, declined to come forward or press the matter further.” (The woman, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, eventually testified before the Senate.) None of these details have anything to do with Jackson in a personal capacity, although Graham kept going, asking: “[Kavanaugh] was ambushed. How would you feel if we did that to you?” Again: there’s basically nothing to do with Jackson in any meaningful sense in any of this. She replied, “Senator, I’ve appreciated the kindness that each of you has shown me to see me in your offices, to talk with me about my approach.” Graham just kept ranting. Check out that exchange below:

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who’d previously complained to Jackson about curriculum at a school where she serves on the board of trustees but isn’t in charge or involved with the selection of curriculum, brought up angry arguments about transgender women, inquiring: “Under the modern leftist sensibilities, if I decide right now that I’m a woman, then apparently I’m a woman. Does that mean that I would have Article 3 standing to challenge a gender-based restriction?” Jackson responded, “Senator, to the extent that you are asking me about who has the ability to bring lawsuits based on gender, those kinds of issues are working their way through the courts, and I’m not able to comment on them.” In other words, Jackson brought the exchange back down to earth, out of whatever destructive culture war hysteria Cruz was running with. Check out that interaction below:

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has been running with rhetorical affronts against Jackson over her past handling of criminal cases involving child pornography, and he brought that argument back up this Wednesday, asking about one particular case: “Judge, you gave [the offender] three months. My question is, do you regret it or not?” Jackson replied: “Senator, what I regret is that in a hearing about my qualifications to be a Justice on the Supreme Court, we’ve spent a lot of time focusing on this small subset of my sentences. And I’ve tried to explain many times… In every case, I followed what Congress authorized me to do  in looking to the best of my ability at all of the various factors that apply, that constrain judges, that give us discretion, but also tell us how to sentence. And I ruled in every case based on all of the relevant factors.” The Washington Post has previously reported how ‘Jackson followed the probation office’s sentencing recommendations in five of the seven cases [Hawley referenced] — and… in the United States overall, only 30 percent of sentences in such child pornography cases are within “federal guidelines.”’ Watch Jackson and Hawley below:



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