GOP members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday cited similar reasons for voting against Supreme Court confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Republicans on the panel are expected to be united in their opposition to the candidate when they vote later Monday.
Here’s a look at some of the points Republicans made in their comments:
Lack of legal philosophy: Jackson’s refusal to adhere to a specific legal philosophy — such as the originality or the textual — has been cited by several Republicans.
“We don’t expect a nominee to say that they will agree with a specific judge 100% of the time, but it’s not too much to ask for a nominee to be able to explain how the judge approaches the law and where they may be different,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, said.
Democrats have contradicted that some GOP Supreme Court appointees, such as Chief Justice John Roberts, also failed to identify as following a particular legal philosophy.
Supposedly soft on crime: Republicans on Monday attacked Jackson for being “indulgent” toward criminal offenders in her sentencing, with some committee members continuing to focus on her track record in child pornography cases. sen. For example, Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, praised charts that he said showed her average sentence in certain categories of these cases was below the national average, while Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, discussed the “policy disagreement.” Jackson has shown what the sentencing guidelines instruct to do in those cases.
Democrats pushed back those complaints by stating that Republicans have backed GOP-appointed judges who showed similar convictions to those types of defendants. They also praised the endorsements Jackson has received from several law enforcement and victim rights groups.
“To say she’s an extremist on crime is believable that she has law enforcement group after law enforcement group supporting her,” said Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat.
A Trump-era immigration statement: As Republicans labeled Jackson a “radical” and an “activist” judge, they in particular nullified one decision she made as a district court judge when she spoke out against a Trump-era immigration policy that expanded the categories of non-citizens who may be subject to accelerated deportation procedures. Her decision was overturned on appeal.
“The Make the Road case showed her willingness to put policies on the left above the law,” Cruz said, referring to the immigration case.