Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., gave opening remarks March 24 on the final day of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
After three days of testimony from Jackson and questions from senators, the committee will hear from professional and personal witnesses, including those from the American Bar Association, who can speak to Jackson’s work and her character.
Durbin also recognized Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., for his impassioned speech to Jackson on Thursday, saying his statements will go down in the annals of U.S. Senate history. Without saying any specific name, he then said he couldn’t praise all the members of the committee for their conduct throughout the hearings.
“Some of the attacks on this judge were unfair, unrelenting and beneath the dignity of the United States Senate,” Durbin said. “You can disagree with a senator’s vote. You can disagree with a judge’s ruling. But to draw conclusions that really reflect on them personally and on their values – and taken to the extreme – is unfair, whether the nominee is a Democrat or a Republican.”
“I was so saddened by that, and it happened over and over and over again,” he added.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, were among the members who got heated in their questions for Jackson.
Jackson was nominated by President Joe Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. After the hearings conclude, the committee will issue a recommendation in preparation for a full Senate vote. If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Black woman on the high court.
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