Louisiana Senators John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy say they will be voting "No" on President Joe Biden's pick for the U.S. Supreme Court.
In statements made Monday, the senators stated they would vote against confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an associate justice to the court. If confirmed, Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
Senator John Kennedy in a statement said that he did not agree with Jackson on her opinions on judicial restraint.
“I found Judge Jackson to be smart, well-versed in the law, and . . . extraordinarily deft and artful in her ability to speak at length without saying anything of substance on critical questions—especially the limits of judicial power and the importance of judicial restraint. For that reason, I spent a lot of time reading Judge Jackson’s opinions. . . . I would encourage you to read Make the Road New York case, which was her case on immigration. Well written, but I think her true feelings about the limits of judicial power are expressed in that opinion. She was reversed by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. I don’t agree with the judge on where, based on her opinions, she draws the limits of judicial power, and I don’t think she places as great an importance as I do on judicial restraint in a Madisonian system of checks and balances and separation of powers, and, for that reason, I will be voting no.”
Senator Bill Cassidy:
"I appreciate Judge Jackson meeting with me. She is gracious, intelligent and accomplished. but, when the political left opposed Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett, not because they were not qualified but because of their presumed jurisprudence, they established the criteria by which future nominees should be judged. President Biden chose judge Jackson precisely because she is not a strict constructionist and because she had the strong support of those who prefer an activist judge. It is for these reasons that I will vote No."
After more than 30 hours of hearings last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off the process Monday morning with a vote on whether to move Jackson’s nomination to the Senate floor.
Republicans have said Jackson has a history of being soft on crime and lenient toward criminal offenders in their sentencing, particularly those involving child pornography cases. They have also focused on Jackson not answering the question when asked to define what a woman is during her confirmation hearing in March.
In a widely expected vote, 11 Democrats voted to move Jackson's nomination forward and 11 Republicans voted against the nomination.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will have to clear procedural hurdles to get the nomination out of the committee. It's expected that will happen as early as Monday night.
If confirmed, Jackson will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who will retire at the end of the 2021-2022 term.
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