South Carolina, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham recently announced that he would not vote for confirmation of President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Graham previously supported her nomination to a Senate-confirmed position last year.
“I will oppose her, and I will vote no,” said Graham in a speech on the floor of the Senate.
Jackson is nevertheless on track to be confirmed, even without Republican support, if every member of the caucus votes in favor and Vice President Kamala Harris is called on to vote and break the tie.
However, this appears an unlikely turn of events as Senator Susan Collins of Maine has announced she will vote in favor of confirmation, along with Utah Senator Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Graham was one of only three Republicans who voted for her confirmation last year when the Senate confirmed her to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
The two other Republican senators who voted to approve were Murkowski and Collins.
Graham’s view
Senator Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said, “My decision is based upon her record of judicial activism, flawed sentencing methodology regarding child pornography cases, and a belief Judge Jackson will not be deterred by the law’s plain meaning when it comes to liberal causes.”
The Senator continued, adding that although he finds 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.
“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.”
Several Republicans have argued that Jackson is weak on crime during the Senate confirmation hearings, including the lenient sentencing in child pornography cases.
Republicans also declared they are concerned Jackson will seek to impose liberal policy preferences and engage in judicial activism from the bench.
During the hearings, Jackson stressed that her concern for the rule of law and public safety would guide her decision-making. She emphasized that she approached her work impartially and said that personal opinions do not play a role.
Senator Graham asked Judge Jackson if she would say that she is an activist judge. “I would not say that,” said Jackson.
“Over the course of my almost decade on the bench, I have developed a methodology that I use in order to ensure that I am ruling impartially and that I am adhering to the limits on my judicial authority,” Jackson said.
“I am acutely aware that as a judge, in our system, I have limited power, and I am trying in every case to stay in my lane.”
