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WASHINGTON — Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, mentioned Wednesday that she plans to vote to substantiate Choose Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Courtroom, the primary Republican to publicly again President Joe Biden’s nominee.
In a press release, Collins mentioned Jackson “possesses the expertise, {qualifications}, and integrity to function an affiliate justice on the Supreme Courtroom.
“Choose Jackson has sterling tutorial {and professional} credentials. She was a Supreme Courtroom clerk, a public defender, a revered legal professional, and a member of the Sentencing Fee,” Collins mentioned, noting Jackson’s present service as a decide on the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and, earlier than that, as a federal district court docket decide for greater than eight years.
The senator mentioned she would not agree with Jackson on all points, however emphasised, “That alone, nonetheless, just isn’t disqualifying.”
Collins additionally mentioned the Supreme Courtroom affirmation course of is “damaged” due to how partisan it has turn out to be, transferring away from what she believes to be the suitable analysis of a nominee’s “expertise, {qualifications}, and integrity.” The method should not be about assessing “whether or not a nominee displays the ideology of a person senator or would rule precisely as a person senator would need,” she mentioned.
Collins added that earlier justices have been confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate, which she mentioned instilled confidence within the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
“That is the strategy that I plan to proceed to make use of for Supreme Courtroom nominations as a result of it runs counter to the disturbing pattern of politicizing the judicial nomination course of,” she mentioned.
Collins met with Jackson on Capitol Hill for greater than an hour Tuesday, as most senators have achieved with the nominee. The GOP senator from Maine informed reporters they’d a “good assembly” and mentioned Jackson supplied some clarification on sure points. Collins had mentioned she deliberate to replicate on their dialog Tuesday evening.
Whereas Collins doesn’t sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which heard testimony from Jackson throughout her affirmation hearings final week, she voted in favor of Jackson’s nomination to be a U.S. circuit decide for the District of Columbia in June 2021.
The GOP senator had beforehand met with Jackson in early March. Afterward, Collins mentioned, “Properly, clearly I don’t agree together with her on each resolution that she has rendered, and we mentioned the choice the place she was overturned by the circuit court docket, and she or he defined her reasoning in additional depth. However I felt that what I did get from her is that she takes a really thorough, cautious strategy in making use of the legislation to the details of the case. And that’s what I need to see in a decide.”
Different attainable Republican senators who might help Jackson embrace Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
The Judiciary Committee is anticipated to vote on Jackson’s nomination on Monday, after which the Senate plans to vote later within the week to substantiate Jackson, with all 50 Democrats anticipated to again her. With Collins’ help, Democrats doubtless will not want Vice President Kamala Harris to interrupt a tie.
As soon as confirmed, Jackson will turn out to be the primary Black lady to serve on the Supreme Courtroom.
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