Senators also made opening statements today, with Democrats praising Jackson’s career and groundbreaking nomination and GOP senators saying they’d vet her record on crime as they previewed the tough questions they’re likely to ask.
Jackson will answer questions from lawmakers Tuesday and Wednesday, and witnesses will testify Thursday. Democrats hope to confirm Jackson by early April.
Our live coverage has ended. See how today’s hearing unfolded in the posts below.
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Key moments from the first day of Jackson's confirmation hearings — and what to expect tomorrow
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on Monday.
During her opening statement, Jackson thanked God and her family for their support, and assured senators that she takes her “duty to be independent very seriously.”
Senators on the committee also delivered opening statements, providing a preview of what to expect over the next couple of days as Jackson faces questions from lawmakers.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin’s opening statement emphasized the groundbreaking nature of Jackson’s nomination to the highest court.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar highlighted the important role justices play on rulings that impact every day people.
“Like Americans who are one Supreme Court decision away from losing their health insurance, or one court decision away from the ability to make their own health care choices, or the Dreamers who could lose the only country they’ve ever known,” Klobuchar said, alluding to the previous Supreme Court cases that dealt with the Affordable Care Act and immigration policy.
Jackson’s public defender experience, according to Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, helps her “understand our justice system uniquely, through the eyes of people who couldn’t afford a lawyer.”
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s opening statement was a particularly poignant reflection of the unprecedented moment. The committee’s sole Black member described the hearing as “not a normal day for America. We have never had this moment before.”
Republicans, meanwhile, used their opening statements to focus on past contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearings, namely Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s process.
The very beginning of the opening statement from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee’s top Republican, was call back to those hearings, with him recounting how his opening remarks were almost immediately interrupted by protestors.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Republicans “couldn’t go back to our offices during Kavanaugh without getting spit on.”
Promising that Jackson’s hearings won’t be a repeat of the ugliness of the Kavanaugh fight, Graham referred specifically to the sexual assault allegations put forward about the judge in late summer 2018.
Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Ted Cruz of Texas also rehashed past Supreme Court hearings which they viewed as politically motivated and noted that Jackson’s record on crime are “fair game” during the hearing process.
Cruz said that “part of the Democratic effort to abolish the police is nominating justices that consistently side with violent criminals, release violent criminals, refuse to enforce the law and that results in jeopardizing innocent citizens,” and so questions about that are “fair game.”
What to expect tomorrow: Senators from both sides of the aisle will have an opportunity to question Jackson on her experience. Day 2 of the hearings begin at 9 a.m. ET.
Listen to a recap of today’s hearing here and read about possible topics Jackson will be grilled on this week here.
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Chairman Durbin says the Jackson hearings shouldn't be a history class on Kavanaugh
From CNN's Manu Raju
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin and Sen. Chuck Grassley greet Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearing on Monday.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
After the hearing, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin explained why Democrats didn’t defend their record on judicial nominees after Republicans excoriated their party — namely over the 2018 confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexual assault and which he furiously denied.
Durbin told CNN there was a reason why they didn’t push back today.
Asked if he regretted his party’s handling of the Kavanaugh nomination, the Illinois Democrat said:
“Listen, we all learn from life experiences. I hope you do. I do. Some of these were in our control and some out of our control. I don’t want to relive that history. I think we’re pushing forward with an eye to the future.”
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Doug Jones says Jackson will likely not answer court-packing questions and pushes back on GOP criticism
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer and Lauren Fox
Doug Jones, a former Democratic senator who is serving as nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s “sherpa” during the confirmation process, said he dosen’t expect her to address Republican questions about court-packing, a issue that will almost certainly be raised in the days to come.
“I don’t think any judicial nominee should be talking about legislative policy,” Jones said. “Everybody understands that the size of the Supreme Court is an issue for this body, for the Congress. It is not for the court, and I don’t think you will see any nominee to address that.”
On criticisms from Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn about the defendants Jackson represented when she was a public defender, Jones replied, “I think when you hear Judge Jackson talking about her time, and how it informed her as to being a judge and being able to talk, I think she will answer Senator Blackburn pretty well.”
Asked about Republicans calling Jackson soft on crime, Jones said that, “it’s going to be very simple for her to make the argument because she’s going to point to her record.”
More specifically, on Sen. Josh Hawley’s remarks on her sentencing record in cases involving child sexual abuse images, Jones said, “given his tweets and his statements, it was not surprising. We expected those and she will be able to talk about each one of those cases.”
Overall, Jones said he was pleased by Monday’s hearing.
“This is the kind of respectful hearing that you always want, in these confirmation hearings,” he told reporters. “Today was a really great day, a really great start.”
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Jackson: I take "my duty to be independent very seriously"
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson delivers an opening statement during her confirmation hearing in Washington, DC on Monday.
(Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson told senators that she takes “my duty to be independent very seriously.”
Jackson called her judicial role “limited” and “constrained.”
While acknowledging the hundred of written decisions she penned can be long, she said “that people should know precisely what I think and the basis for my decision.”
Her experiences in law have “instilled in me the importance of having each litigant know that the judge in their case has heard them, whether or not their arguments prevail in court.”
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Republicans invoke Janice Rogers Brown
From CNN's Devan Cole
At least two GOP senators invoked another notable Black jurist during their opening statements Monday, using left-wing resistance to Janice Rogers Brown in 2003 to make the case that potential opposition to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson isn’t about race.
In 2003, Brown, who was then a California state Supreme Court judge, was nominated by then-President George W. Bush to a Washington-based US appellate court long regarded as a steppingstone to the Supreme Court. But Democrats, including then-Sen. Joe Biden, stalled her nomination for nearly two years and effectively ensured she was shunned in 2005 when Bush had a chance to fill two seats on the high court.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said during the hearing that “we will see Democrats in the media suggest that any senator that is skeptical of your nomination, that questions you vigorously or that dares to vote against you must somehow harbor racial animus.”
“If that were the standard, I would note we are sitting on a committee where multiple members of this committee — the senior Democrats in the committee — happily filibustered Judge Janice Rogers Brown,” he added.
When Brown was confirmed, CNN reported that her opponents were particularly critical of her views on corporate liability and abortion rights. Then-Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois called her “one of President Bush’s most ideological and extreme judicial nominees.” Durbin is now the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Brown’s nomination to the DC Circuit was also opposed by a litany of leading civil rights groups, including the NAACP.
“We would like to urge you in the strongest possible terms to vote against this nomination, which represents a regressive step in the historic struggle for civil and equal rights,” Hilary Shelton, the then-president of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, wrote to the committee in 2003.
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Jackson acknowledges daughters in a "special moment" in her opening statement
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's husband Patrick and their daughters Leila and Talia listen during her opening statements.
(Evan Vucci/AP)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson saved a “special moment” in her opening statement to acknowledge her daughters, Talia and Leila.
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Jackson thanks her high school debate coach
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson recalled the mentors who helped her believe in herself, like Fran Berger, her high school debate coach.
Of Justice Stephen Breyer, the justice whom she clerked for and who she may replace, she said he “exemplifies what it means of the highest level of skill and integrity, civility, and grace.”
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Jackson describes how her father inspired her to pursue law
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said her father helped inspired her pursuit in law, during his study of law while she was a young girl.
“My very earliest memories are of watching my father study — he had his stack of law books on the kitchen table while I sat across from him with my stack of coloring books,” she said.
She noted the path her brother Ketajh took into public service as a police officer. As for her husband of 25 years, Patrick, who is a doctor and whom she met in college.
“I have no doubt that, without him by my side from the very beginning of this incredible professional journey, none of this would have been possible,” she said.
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Jackson’s remarks touch on her faith and gratitude to her family
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
The parents of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Johnny and Ellery Brown, listen during their daughter's confirmation hearing on Monday. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson emphasized the gratitude she felt, as part of her faith, and towards the sacrifices of her family.
She affirmed her thanks “to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment. “
Among her blessing, she was born “in this great Nation” in 1970, a decade after Congress enacted civil rights legislation.
“Like so many who had experienced lawful racial segregation first-hand, my parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, left their hometown of Miami, Florida, and came to Washington DC, to experience new freedom,” Jackson said.
She noted the long hours of work and sacrifice of her parents “to provide their children every opportunity to reach their God-given potential.”
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NOW: Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson delivers statement during historic hearing
If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman justice.
“During this hearing, I hope that you will see how much I love our country and the Constitution and the rights that make us free,” Jackson told the committee.
This morning, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, opened the hearing by putting Jackson’s nomination in historical context, noting that of 115 Supreme Court justices, 108 have been White men.
“Not a single justice has been a Black woman,” Durbin said. “You, Judge Jackson, can be the first.”
“It’s not easy being the first,” he added. “But your presence here today, your willingness to brave this process, will give inspiration to millions of Americans who see themselves in you.”
CNN’s Alex Rogers contributed reporting to this post.
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Judge Jackson was just sworn in by the Senate Judiciary Committee
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in prior to her opening statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Monday.
(Sarah Silbiger for CNN)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in by the Senate Judiciary Committee as she prepares to present her opening statement and go through the hearing process for her Supreme Court nomination.
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What senators are saying on race
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Republican Sens. Mike Lee, Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz speak during a break in Monday's proceedings.
(Sarah Silbiger for CNN)
Democrats praised what Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination will mean for the Americans who have not seen themselves represented on the country’s highest court. Republicans cautioned that their skepticism of her had nothing to do with her race.
“We will see Democrats and the media suggest that any senator that is skeptical of your nomination, that questions you vigorously, or that dares to vote against you must somehow harbor racial animus,” Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz said.
Several Democrats said that her presence on the Supreme Court will increase the trust a diverse public place in it.
“Your presence here today, your willingness to brave this process will give inspiration to millions of Americans who see themselves in you,” Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said, while noting the rally in Jackson’s support near the Capitol Monday. “There were so many young African American women and law students there seeing your pursuit as part of their dream.”
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s opening statement was a particularly poignant reflection of the moment, as the committee’s sole Black member told Jackson her nomination “is not normal.”
“We are on the precipice of shattering another ceiling,” Booker said. “It’s a sign that we as a country are continuing to rise to our collective cherished highest ideals
Sen. Alex Padilla of California, who gave a portion of his remarks in Spanish, noted how “Breaking barriers and being the first means not just significant opportunity, but tremendous responsibility,” he told Jackson that she was “equipped with a tremendous record of experience and accomplishment and you are ready to blaze this trail.”
“A trail that your grandparents may have found unfathomable, but one that your daughters and my sons and future generations will now see as a natural part of the American story,” Padilla said.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the second Republican on the committee to speak, acknowledged the historic moment, and told the committee “count me in on the idea of making the court more diverse.”
But he also referenced lower court GOP nominees of color who were opposed by Democrats.
“It is about philosophy when it’s somebody of color on our side,” Graham said, adding that “it’s not going to fly” if hard questions about Jackson’s philosophy are deemed racist.
Other Senate Republicans named checked the GOP nominees referred to by Graham, Miguel Estrada – a George W. Bush nominee whose nomination to the DC Circuit was filibustered by Democrats– and Janice Rogers Brown, a George W. Bush-appointee to the DC Circuit whose confirmation faced hostility and delay from Democrats.
“If you are Hispanic or African American and you dare depart from their political orthodoxy, they will crush you, they will attack you, they will slander you, they will filibuster you. So this is not about race,” Cruz said.
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Jackson is being introduced before the Senate Judiciary Committee
Judge Thomas Griffith, formerly of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Lisa Fairfax, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, are introducing Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“Today, I have the high honor to introduce Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a jurist who has all of those qualities,” he added.
Fairfax, meanwhile, shared her experience getting to know Jackson and studying alongside her at Harvard.
“Ketanji and I met during our first days of college nearly 35 years ago. Those first moments when you wonder if you belong, she’s the friend that made sure we all did. A woman of deep faith in God and unyielding love for family. Ketanji defines friendship. She’s the friend you’re immediately drawn to for their outgoing and friendly nature. As our circle of friends grew, she’s the one who became the rock for us all,” she said.
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Biden called Jackson last night "to wish her good luck this week at the hearings," White House says
From CNN's DJ Judd
(Sarah Silbiger for CNN)
President Biden called Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson last night ahead of today’s confirmation panel “to wish her good luck this week at the hearings,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday.
Biden convened a call with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy and Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom — colloquially, “the Quint” — earlier Monday to discuss Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
“And I would also note that he’s very grateful to Judge Thomas Griffith as well as Lisa Fairfax for introducing [Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson] today,” Psaki added.
Psaki told reporters Monday that Biden will likely “watch replays,” of today’s Supreme Court Confirmation hearings, acknowledging “it was hard to plan his schedule around this.”
“You know, he — it was hard to plan his schedule around this, so what he asked is that he be provided updates from his team and aides as the — as the hearings progress,” Psaki told reporters. “And obviously, Chairman Durbin gave his opening, Senator Grassley gave his opening this morning, and it proceeds, but it’s hard to plan the President’s schedule around a moving Senate hearing, so I’m sure he’ll be able to watch replays of it, and more specifics, but he wanted updates from aides as well.”
Note: Psaki acknowledged she may not have been correct about the timing of Jackson’s opening statement in her original answer as Jackson delivered her remarks in the afternoon.
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Booker: This is not a normal day for America. The Senate is poised to break another barrier
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he felt a sense of “overwhelming joy” because of the historic nature of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination.
He continued, “The Senate is poised right now to break another bat barrier. We are on the precipice of shattering another ceiling. Another glass ceiling. It’s a sign that we as a country are continuing to rise to our collective cherished highest ideals. I just feel this sense of overwhelming joy as I see you sitting there as I see your family sitting behind you.”
Booker went on to highlight the importance of the diversity of America and representation.
“The story of America, I think is a testimony to this world of what diverse people can achieve,” he said.
Booker noted that of the 115 Supreme Court justices that have served, 108 have been White men. “We shouldn’t diminish the accomplishments of mostly these 108 White men. They were extraordinary patriots who helped shape this country. But now we are seeing to the highest court in our land, a hopeful day like this. That so many of the people so much of the rich talent of our nation, who could not scarcely ever dream of sitting on the Supreme Court. Now we are showing that we will indeed go deep into the waters of our nation and pull forth the best talent. Extraordinary legal talent comes from all backgrounds,” he said.
Booker also highlighted many of Jackson’s career accomplishments and recognized her daughter, Leila, who wrote to then President Obama, requesting that he nominate her mother to the Supreme Court.
“I want to tell your daughter right now. But that dream of hers is so close to being a reality,” Booker added.
Watch the moment:
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The shadow boxing begins over whether Jackson is "soft on crime"
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s experience as a federal public defender – something that sets her apart from every justice who has served on the Supreme Court – has made notable appearances in opening statements delivered by committee members of both parties.
Republicans previewed an effort to connect Jackson to the progressive criminal justice policies that they say are behind the rise in crime, while Democrats sought to counter those attacks and tout her criminal defense experience as an advantage, not a vulnerability.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, said that “part of the Democratic effort to abolish the police is nominating justices that consistently side with violent criminals, release violent criminals, refuse to enforce the law and that results in jeopardizing innocent citizens,” and so questions about that are “fair game.”
Jackson’s public defender experience, according to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, helps her “understand our justice system uniquely, through the eyes of people who couldn’t afford a lawyer.”
“They couldn’t afford their own lawyer and you advocated for them,” Blumenthal said, later adding that as a former prosecutor, he knows that the “system works best when there are good lawyers on both sides.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, framed her background as a contrast from the nominees put forward who were “groomed in partisan petri dishes.”
“She learned practical, courtroom experience in both civil and criminal law. How the judicial system works, and how it serves or doesn’t serve different litigants,” Whitehouse said.
Cruz’s comment towards Jackson came in a broadside about “murder rates, carjacking rates, crime rates skyrocketing across the country, in significant part because political, Soros-backed district attorneys, because of Democratic efforts to abolish the police.”
Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee’s top Republican, connected those trends to the Demand Justice, a left-wing legal group that supports Jackson’s nomination that he noted also supports progressive local prosecutors. He denied that Republicans had a habit of “vilifying” nominees that have represented criminal defendants.
“I’ve distinguished between two types of nominees who have worked in criminal cases. There are bill of rights attorneys who want to protect defendants’ constitutional rights,” Grassley said. “Then there are what I’ve called criminal defense lawyers who disagree with our criminal laws. They want to undermine laws that they have policy disagreements with, and of course that’s a very important difference.”
Senators will continue to deliver opening statements and then Jackson will be introduced by Judge Thomas Griffith, formerly of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Lisa Fairfax, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
The nominee will then deliver an opening statement.
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Biden tweets: I know Judge Jackson will make "an exceptional justice"
President Biden tweeted his support for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ahead of her opening statement Monday afternoon.
“As Judge Jackson begins her Supreme Court confirmation hearings this week, I look forward to the Senate and country seeing how incredibly qualified she is for the job. She’s a brilliant legal mind with the utmost character and integrity. I know she’ll make an exceptional Justice,” Biden tweeted.
View the tweet here:
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Why the Senate has a say in the Supreme Court confirmation process
From CNN staff
Today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing kicked off a historic confirmation process for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson — who could become the first Black woman on the highest court.
But why is the Senate involved in this process? Under Article II of the Constitution, the President nominates justices to the Supreme Court, with the “advice and consent of the Senate.”
The American Bar Association on Friday rated Jackson as “well qualified” — its highest rating.
There is no requirement that the chief justice of the Supreme Court previously serve as an associate justice, but five of the 17 chief justices have. Three justices served on the Court immediately before being elevated to chief justice: Edward D. White, Harlan Fiske Stone and William Rehnquist. Two justices had a break between their service as associate justice and being appointed chief justice: Charles Evans Hughes and John Rutledge.
Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed nine justices during his 12-year presidency, the most since George Washington. Jimmy Carter is the only president to complete a full term of office and never have the opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court justice.
Democrats put abortion and climate crisis front and center
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Democrats are putting a spotlight on the major cases of the Supreme Court and some of the controversial rulings the 6-3 conservative majority has recently handed down — and some still to come.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein referenced current cases on the Supreme Court’s docket concerning gun control policy, abortion rights and what authority the Environmental Protection Agency has to fight climate change.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar hit a similar note, when she asked her colleagues to remember how the court “must be able to see the real people at the other end of its rulings.”
“Like Americans who are one Supreme Court decision away from losing their health insurance, or one court decision away from the ability to make their own health care choices, or the Dreamers who could lose the only country they’ve ever known,” Klobuchar said, alluding to the previous Supreme Court cases that dealt with the Affordable Care Act and immigration policy.
She also referenced the conservative majority’s ruling in a 2020 Wisconsin election rules case as the pandemic took hold, as she recalled “the people who waited for hours in the rain one recent election day in Wisconsin, wearing garbage bags, and homemade mask in the middle of what would soon become a global pandemic just to cast a ballot.”
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When Elena Kagan promised to ask Antonin Scalia how to hunt
From CNN's Ariane de Vogue
(Getty Images)
Every Supreme Court confirmation process includes the dreaded “meet and greets” when the nominee sits down with as many senators as possible for courtesy visits before hearings begin – even when it’s clear a senator opposes a nomination.
Several senators have mentioned their recent meetings with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. And, to be sure, the meetings include discussions on weighty constitutional issues and a nominee’s judicial experience. But sometimes the conversations take unusual turns.
Justice Elena Kagan, for instance told CNN’s David Axelrod several years ago that when it came to gun rights, she was asked several times whether she had ever been hunting.
She confessed she was a “Jewish girl who grew up in New York City” and knew close to nothing about the sport. She said that at the time she felt like her answers to the senators “sounded pretty darn pathetic.”
So Kagan decided to make a promise.
She told one senator that if she were lucky enough to be confirmed she would ask Justice Antonin Scalia to teach her how to hunt.
“When I got on the Court I went to Justice Scalia,” Kagan said. “I told him the whole story and I said this is the only promise I made in 82 office visits. He thought it was hysterical.”
The two justices started out with clay pigeons, then deer (she bagged one), antelope (no such luck) and even ducks.
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Brett Kavanaugh hearing drama continues to resonate among Republicans
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Republican senators are making a point to remind Democrats and the public about how contentious Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation fight got.
The very beginning of the opening statement from Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee’s top Republican, was a call back to those hearings, with him recounting how his opening remarks were almost immediately interrupted by protestors.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham said Republicans “couldn’t go back to our offices during Kavanaugh without getting spit on.”
Promising that Jackson’s hearings won’t be a repeat of the ugliness of the Kavanaugh fight, Graham referred to specifically to the sexual assault allegations put forward about the judge in late summer 2018.
“It means that no Republican senator is going to unleash on you an attack about your character when the hearing is virtually over,” Graham said, while seeming to allude to the role California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein played in the allegations – which Kavanaugh has vehemently denied — coming out. “None of us I hope have been sitting on information about you as a person for weeks or months, you come into our offices and we never share it with you to allow you to give your side of the story. We wait to the very last minute when the hearing’s about to be gaveled, concluded, and say ‘oh by the way, I’ve got this letter.’”
Utah Sen. Mike Lee referenced those 2018 hearings as well.
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Key things to know about Jackson's personal history and legal career
From CNN's Jake Tapper, Ariane de Vogue, Jeff Zeleny, Betsy Klein and Maegan Vazquez
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
As senators make their opening statements establishing arguments for and against Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation, the judge’s personal history and legal career have been front and center.
Here are some key things to know about Jackson:
The judge was born in the nation’s capital but grew up in the Miami area. She was a member of the debate team at Miami Palmetto Senior High School before earning both her undergraduate degree and law degree at Harvard.
She also previously clerked for retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and served as a federal public defender in Washington — an experience that her backers say is fitting, given Biden’s commitment to putting more public defenders on the federal bench.
She was also a commissioner on the US Sentencing Commission and served on the federal district court in DC, as an appointee of President Barack Obama, before Biden elevated her to the DC Circuit last year.
Jackson thanked Breyer when she was presented as Biden’s nominee last month.
At her 2021 confirmation hearing for the appellate court, she connected her family’s professions — her parents worked in public schools — to her decision to work as a public defender.
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, is a relative by marriage and introduced her at the 2013 hearing for her district court nomination.
Ryan also congratulated Jackson when she was nominated.
“Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family. Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal,” Ryan said.
At the White House event for her nomination, Jackson noted that an uncle was previously given a life sentence on drug charges, an issue of which she hasn’t previously spoken about publicly.
“You may have read that I have one uncle who got caught up in the drug trade and received a life sentence,” Jackson said. “That is true, but law enforcement also runs in my family. In addition to my brother, I had two uncles who served decades as police officers, one of whom became the police chief in my hometown of Miami, Florida.”
In 2008, when Jackson was in private practice and well before she became a judge, Jackson referred her uncle’s file to WilmerHale, a law firm that handles numerous clemency petitions, according to a spokesperson for the firm.
The firm submitted the petition on Brown’s behalf on October 7, 2014, and Obama commuted his sentence on November 22, 2016. According to the firm, Jackson had “no further involvement in the matter” after making the referral. Jackson’s chambers said she would decline comment on the issue.
“I am standing here today by the grace of God as testament to the love and support that I’ve received from my family,” Jackson added when nominated.
Read more about Jackson’s personal history and legal record here.
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GOP opens hearing with focus on past nomination fights and dispute over records
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin watches as Ranking Member Charles Grassley delivers remarks during the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill March 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
During his opening statement, the Judiciary Committee’s top Republican, Sen. Chuck Grassley, focused on the tactics used by Democrats in previous confirmation hearings and a dispute over documents Republicans are seeking.
Grassley recounted how Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing in 2018 was disrupted by protestors and how Democrats claims, during Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings in 2020, that she would strike down the Affordable Care Act in a case where she ultimately ruled in favor of the law. Both were nominated to the Supreme Court by former President Trump.
He spoke at length about internal documents from the US Sentencing Commission, where Jackson served as a vice-chair for four years, that Republicans have unsuccessfully sought to obtain, and he briefly defended the attacks other members have launched about her record in certain criminal cases.
The statements previewed how Republicans might lean into a “soft on crime” framing with Jackson’s experience as a federal public defender and some of her other advocacy. While singling out the support she’s received from the liberal group Demand Justice, Grassley connected her nomination to the progressive reforms being sought in criminal justice.
“I’ve distinguished between two types of nominees who have worked in criminal cases,” Grassley said. “There are ‘Bill of Rights attorneys’ who want to protect defendants’ constitutional rights, Then there are what I’ve called ‘criminal defense lawyers’ who disagree with our criminal laws. They want to undermine laws that they have policy disagreements with, and of course that’s a very important difference.”
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Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin: "You, Judge Jackson, can be the first"
From CNN's Tierney Sneed
Sen. Dick Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, right, speaks as Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson listens during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March 21, 2022.
(J. Scott Applewhite/Pool/Getty Images)
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin’s opening statement emphasized the groundbreaking nature of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
Noting that the Supreme Court’s make up has “never really reflected the nation” the court served, the Democratic senator from Illinois directly addressed the fact that Jackson would be the first Black female justice if confirmed.
He said that with her nomination, “We can be confident that the court, its role, and its decisions will be more understandable to the American public.”
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"Every day, KBJ": Black women rally behind Ketanji Brown Jackson ahead of SCOTUS confirmation hearings
From CNN's Eva McKend and Chandelis Duster
(Sarah Silbiger for CNN)
Several women-led groups held a rally in front of the Supreme Court on Monday to bolster support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ahead of her Senate confirmation hearings.
The National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, She Will Rise, Black Women’s Roundtable and other organizations hosted the rally, pushing for the Senate to confirm Jackson – who would be the first Black woman on the high court. “Every day, KBJ,” “Confirm her today,” and “1, 2, 3, 4 confirm her” were among the many chants heard at the rally attended by dozens.
Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, told the crowd Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court is “personal.”
(Sarah Silbiger for CNN)
Jackson’s nomination has inspired many who long for representation on the court in its 233-year history as Black women continue to shatter glass ceilings in the political sphere.
Sophia Fouzi, age 10 and daughter of She Will Rise founder Kimberly Tignor, told CNN, “It inspires me and a bunch of girls and women.”
Founded in August 2020, She Will Rise advocated hard for the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court. The organization will continue to focus on urging for Black women to be in judicial pipelines throughout the US.
“When I’m older I’d like to think bigger than the Supreme Court. I would like to be the first African American female President,” Fouzi told CNN.
(Sarah Silbiger for CNN)
Black women traveled from all over the country to support Jackson’s confirmations including from as far as Vermont.
“We have so many amazing people of color and women of color who want to step into spaces and places of decision making and we are needing to be here to support and honor the work of Judge Jackson,” said former Vermont State Rep. Kiah Morris, executive director of the progressive activist group Rights & Democracy.
Counter protestors were in attendance as well, beating a drum and chanting, “Women deserve better. Abortion hurts women.”
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NOW: Historic Supreme Court confirmation hearings begin
If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Democrats have touted President Biden’s pick as a qualified, “historic” nominee, while Republicans have criticized her record on crime and the support she holds from left-wing groups.
Here’s what will happen at today’s hearing:
Jackson and the senators will make their opening statements establishing the arguments for and against her confirmation.
Jackson will be introduced by Judge Thomas Griffith, formerly of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Lisa Fairfax, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
Jackson will then answer questions from the members on Tuesday and Wednesday, and witnesses will testify on Thursday. Democrats hope to confirm Jackson by early April.
More on the nominee: Jackson, 51, sits on DC’s federal appellate court and had been considered the front-runner for the vacancy since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement. Jackson worked as a clerk for Breyer, a federal public defender, an attorney in private practice, a federal district court judge and a member of the US Sentencing Commission.
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How Ketanji Brown Jackson is preparing for questions about her record on crime
From CNN's Ariane de Vogue
(Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Like most every other nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has been participating behind closed doors in so-called “moot court” sessions to prepare for her upcoming hearings, according to a source familiar.
Under the system, allies play the role of hostile senators, launching questions or comments meant to rattle a nominee or throw her off course.
At these sessions — sometimes referred to as “murder boards” due to their intensity — Jackson will likely be grilled on allegations Republicans have already floated: That she is soft on crime.
Her supporters believe the Republican strategy during the hearings is two-fold: Raise questions about Jackson’s experience as a judge, public defender, her time spent on a federal commission that ultimately slashed drug sentences, and briefs she crafted supporting detainees at Guantanamo Bay. After that, they could pivot to attack the policies of the Biden administration in general.
But Jackson — who saw a preview of some similar questions the last time she went before Congress less than a year ago — will be prepared.
Already, for example, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley launched a Twitter thread on Wednesday charging that Jackson’s record reveals a “pattern” of letting child porn offenders off the hook for their appalling crimes, both as a judge and as a policymaker.
“This goes beyond ‘soft on crime,’” he charged.
In its first flash of anger concerning her nomination, the White House blasted Hawley for the attacks. A White House spokesman called the tweets “toxic and weakly-presented misinformation that relies on taking cherry-picked elements of her record out of context — and it buckles under the lightest scrutiny.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said Sunday that Hawley was “wrong” and “unfair in his analysis.”
“Judge Jackson has been scrutinized more than any person I can think of. This is her fourth time before the Senate Judiciary Committee. In three previous times, she came through with flying colors and bipartisan support, the last time as soon as just last year,” the Illinois Democrat said on ABC’s “This Week.”
A CNN review of the material in question shows that Jackson has mostly followed the common judicial sentencing practices in these kinds of cases, and that Hawley took some of her comments out of context by suggesting they were opinions, rather than follow-up questions to subject-matter experts.
The Senate will soon begin Supreme Court hearings for Biden's nominee. Here are key things to know.
From CNN's Shawna Mizelle
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will begin soon, with Democratic leaders setting a goal of reaching a final Senate vote by early April.
If the historic nomination process is successful, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Jackson, 51, currently sits on DC’s federal appellate court and had been considered the front-runner for the vacancy since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement in January.
President Biden, who vowed during the 2020 campaign to select a Black woman to the Supreme Court should a vacancy arise, has already elevated Jackson once, appointing her last year to the appeals court in DC, which is considered the second most powerful federal court in the country.
Because of that appellate appointment, she’s already been through a vetting process that included an interview with the President himself. Last June, the Senate confirmed Jackson by a 53-44 vote.
If elevated to the high court, she would follow in the footsteps of the likes of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who took the seats of the justices they had worked for.
Jackson clerked for Breyer during the 1999 term after serving as a clerk in 1997-1998 to Judge Bruce M. Selya, a federal judge in Massachusetts.
What happens today: Monday’s hearing will begin at 11 a.m. ET, with opening statements from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, an introduction of Jackson by Judge Thomas Griffith, formerly of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and Lisa Fairfax, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, and Jackson’s opening statement.
Committee members will begin questioning the nominee on Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. ET. There will be hearings everyday through Thursday.
The hearings will take place in the Hart Senate Office Building.
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The American Bar Association rated Supreme Court nominee Jackson as "well qualified" — its highest rating
The association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary was unanimous in its evaluation of Jackson’s professional qualifications.”The Standing Committee is of the unanimous opinion that Judge Jackson is ‘Well Qualified’ to serve on the United States Supreme Court,” Ann Claire Williams, the committee’s chair, wrote in a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will conduct the hearings.
Biden nominated Jackson on Feb. 25 to fill the court’s vacancy since liberal justice Stephen Breyer announced his impending retirement. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation.
Confirmation hearings on Jackson’s nomination begin Monday, with Democratic leaders pushing to have a final Senate vote by April 8. Jackson met with Democratic and Republican senators on Capitol Hill ahead of the hearings.
The American Bar Association “confines its evaluation to the qualities of integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament,” Williams says in the letter.
The association’s website notes it has been evaluating the professional qualifications of Supreme Court nominees for more than 60 years and that it does not take into consideration a nominee’s “philosophy, political affiliation or ideology” when making its determinations.
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Here's what Biden's Supreme Court nominee might be grilled on this week
From CNN's Tierney Sneed and Ariane de Vogue
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has already appeared before the Senate three times in confirmation proceedings for prior roles. But several days of hearings for her Supreme Court nomination this week will be the highest-profile — and likely most contentious — grilling that Jackson has faced from lawmakers.
Democrats have signaled they will highlight the historic nature of her nomination — if confirmed, she’ll be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court — and her qualifications, which lawmakers of both parties have described as impressive.
But Senate Republicans say they still have questions about Jackson’s record, even as they’ve said they’ll keep proceedings substantive and dignified.
Jackson, a Harvard Law graduate who grew up in Miami, has served less than a year in her current role on the DC US Circuit Court of Appeals. Before that, she was a judge on DC’s federal trial court for eight years. She also vice-chaired the US Sentencing Commission between 2010 and 2014. All three roles required her to sit for Senate confirmation testimony — in hearings that featured a more low-key tone than what is expected this week.
The two days of Jackson questioning will begin Tuesday, after a round of proceedings Monday featuring opening statements and her introduction.
Here is what might come up at her hearing:
“Soft on crime” framing: Senate Judiciary Republicans have grilled lower court nominees on criminal justice policies that they describe as soft on crime. And in floor remarks on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell previewed that focus on Jackson. His speech critiqued the praise she has received from supporters for how her experience as a public defender gives her “empathy” as a judge.
“Even amidst the national crime wave, a disproportionate share of the new judges President (Joe) Biden has nominated share this professional background that liberals say gives special empathy for criminal defendants,” the Kentucky Republican said. He added that Biden “is deliberately working to make the whole federal judiciary soft on crime.”
Jackson may point to her personal background to counter this attack, as she has done before. With an uncle who was prosecuted for a drug offense, and several members of her family — including her brother — who served in law enforcement, Jackson has relationships that she says have helped her see both sides of the issue.
Scrutiny of her approach to child porn offenses: An extension of the “soft on crime” attack is the claim, somewhat misleadingly made by GOP Sen. Josh Hawley last week, that Jackson is soft on child pornography crimes.
His claims rely on two factors: First is her sentencing record in some cases, which is within the mainstream of how many other judges approach the offenses in question; second are statements she’s made about the legal issues around sex crimes, including in a 1996 law review article and in her role on the sentencing commission.
Some of the sentencing commission comments Hawley highlighted were in response to the testimony of witnesses at commission hearings. A review of the hearing transcript and interviews with two experts who testified belie the claim that Jackson showed leniency toward child pornography during a daylong session that Hawley quoted from in questioning her record. Still, the Missouri Republican has stood by his criticism.
Work on the US Sentencing Commission: In addition to the commission work on child sex crimes, other aspects of Jackson’s tenure there could come up. Before serving as vice chair, she served a two-year stint as an assistant special counsel for the commission in the mid-2000s.
Republicans are poring over thousands of documents for more information on the stances she took while working for the commission.
A look at how Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson handled Trump and executive privilege cases
From CNN's Jeff Zeleny
(Getty Images)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has already ruled in epic battles between Congress and former President Donald Trump, rebuffing efforts to shield White House testimony and records.
President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, who begins Senate hearings today, twice sided with US House committees trying to wrest information from Trump and his top aides. She endorsed a robust role for judges to resolve clashes between the legislative and executive branches, putting her at odds with GOP-appointed judges who found such politically charged controversies beyond the realm of judicial power.
Jackson is certain to face new conflicts between congressional investigators and Trump, as well as with Biden and his successors. Ongoing cases involving Trump and the powers of government could land before her, including disputes over whether Congress can accessTrump’s financial records and whether Trump could be held accountable by private litigants for the January 6 insurrection.
Jackson’s cases testing the checks and balances between the branches, among the most important from her nine years on lower courts, offer a window into her judicial method and courtroom style.
She announced at the outset that she did not intend to “truncate” the hearing, which ended up going four hours. “It’s not my practice to impose time limits,” said Jackson, then a US district judge. “I find them distracting.” As the hours wore on that October 31, 2019, she expressed regret for keeping the lawyers from getting home for Halloween.
When she asked a Department of Justice lawyer to speak slower, she added, “You’re an excellent advocate, but I’m just trying to latch on.” The lawyer said he appreciated the compliment because his mother was watching. She rejoined, “He’s very good.”
In the end, Jackson’s 120-page opinion in Committee on the Judiciary v. McGahn went against the Department of Justice, which had taken up Trump’s effort to prevent the former White House counsel from testifying. The House Judiciary Committee was looking at the time into possible Trump obstruction of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and had subpoenaed McGahn testimony.
Though historic, Jackson's confirmation would not change the ideological makeup of the Supreme Court
From CNN's Jake Tapper, Ariane de Vogue, Jeff Zeleny, Betsy Klein and Maegan Vazquez
(Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
President Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Feb. 25, setting in motion a historic confirmation process for the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation.
“For too long, our government, our courts haven’t looked like America,” Biden said. “I believe it’s time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications, and that we inspire all young people to believe that they can one day serve their country at the highest level.”
“I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey. My life has been blessed beyond measure and I do know that one can only come this far by faith,” Jackson said.
Though historic, the choice of Jackson will not change the ideological makeup of the court.
The court currently has six conservative justices and three liberal justices — and the retiring Breyer comes from the liberal camp. The court is already poised to continue its turn toward the right with high-profile cases and rulings expected from the court in the coming months on abortion, gun control and religious liberty issues.
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Here are the 22 senators on the Judiciary Committee and how they voted on Judge Jackson before
(Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images)
The 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will have the opportunity this week to question President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for two days of hearings.
Here’s who is on the panel:
Democrats:
Committee Chair: Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont
Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Sen. Christopher Coons of Delaware
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut
Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
Sen. Alex Padilla of California
Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia
Republicans:
Ranking member: Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri
Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee
Jackson has already been confirmed by the Senate three times for prior roles. Here’s how lawmakers voted in 2021 when she was nominated for the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit:
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What Biden said about Ketanji Brown Jackson when he announced her historic nomination
“Today, as we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I’m here to fulfill my responsibilities under the Constitution, to preserve freedom and liberty here in the United States of America,” Biden said at the White House as he introduced Jackson.
Biden said it was his “honor to introduce to the country a daughter of former public school teachers a proven consensus builder and an accomplished lawyer and distinguished jurist, on one of the nation’s most prestigious courts.”
Notably, Biden also pointed out the bipartisan work Jackson has done and the support of both Republicans and Democrats, seemingly courting Republican votes for her confirmation.
“Judge Jackson has already been confirmed by the United States Senate three times,” he said.
Biden talked about her work on a bipartisan commission “to reduce the unwarranted disparities in sensing to promote transparency and fairness in the criminal justice system.”
He also noted Jackson was “confirmed with bipartisan Senate vote to serve on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, considered the second most powerful court behind the Supreme Court itself.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper, Ariane de Vogue, Jeff Zeleny, Betsy Klein and Maegan Vazquez contributed reporting to this post.
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Your guide to this week's Supreme Court confirmation hearings — and what happens next
From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Last month, President Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, fulfilling his promise to pick a Black woman.
Today, Brown Jackson will face the Senate Judiciary Committee to begin her first of four days of hearings on her nomination.
What happens this week: The nominee will be introduced Monday to the committee and deliver an opening statement.The 22 members of the committee, which is chaired by Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, will have the opportunity to question Jackson about her record and stance on key issues on Tuesday and Wednesday. See who is on the committee here. Lawmakers will then hear from a panel of witnesses on Thursday.
Usually Supreme Court candidates are judges — and Jackson sits on the federal appellate court in Washington, DC — but there’s no requirement in the Constitution that the person be a judge or even a lawyer. That’s just the recent custom. Read more about Jackson’s personal history and legal record from CNN’s Ariane de Vogue.
What happens next: Once the public hearings wrap, then there’s a committee vote. And then there’s a Senate floor vote.
How long does it take to confirm a Supreme Court justice? The confirmation process timeline varies. For instance, with the 2020 election bearing down and the likelihood they would lose control of the Senate, Republicans pushed through Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination in lightning speed — less than a month. Before that, the last nomination to proceed to confirmation in less than two months was Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s back in 1993. These things usually take months.
How many votes does it take to confirm a new Supreme Court justice? It takes 51 votes in the Senate — a simple majority.
Why not 60 votes? Republicans are adamant about maintaining a 60-vote threshold for legislation. But they actually nuked the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees during the Trump administration, so confirmation takes only a simple majority.
Vice President Kamala Harris can break a 50-50 tie, which is a real possibility in these partisan times. There are 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with Democrats. It’s a split chamber.
Will any Republicans vote for Biden’s nominee? Overwhelming support for nominees, regardless of their political views, used to be routine. Breyer is seen as a liberal justice but he was confirmed 87-9. That kind of bipartisanship has not been seen in recent years.
None of President Donald Trump’s nominees received more than 54 votes. Keep an eye on the more moderate Republicans, like Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Will all Democrats vote for Biden’s nominee? West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has shown himself to be perfectly willing to buck the party line. Democrats will also need to consider other potential wild cards in the Senate.
What will the top issues be? Voting rights is sure to be a key issue as Democrats make that one of their top priorities heading into the 2022 midterm elections and after a raft of decisions by the current court.
Abortion has previously been a key issue during nomination battles. The current court seems poised to either overturn or drastically scale back Roe v. Wade.
The list goes on.
Read more about the Supreme Court confirmation process here.
