On day two of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing, which kicks off Tuesday morning on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will face a number of questions about her judicial record.
On Monday, senators and Jackson issued opening statements ahead of two days of public questioning and follow up.
"Thank you for this historic chance to join the highest court, to work with brilliant colleagues, to inspire future generations and to ensure liberty and justice for all," Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson says, concluding her opening statement. https://t.co/KDN1402Ivw pic.twitter.com/7rvxLzDrTQ
— ABC News (@ABC) March 21, 2022
Republican senators have expressed frustration about Jackson's refusal to take a public position on court packing. Retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who Jackson hopes to replace, was against it.
Sen. Lindsey Graham: “Shouldn’t be hard” for Ketanji Brown Jackson to answer if she supports court-packing.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) March 21, 2022
“Either you do or you don’t.” pic.twitter.com/n4uhOh0puc
In addition, senators are expected to focus on Jackson's allegedly soft on crime sentencing practices, particularly for those convicted of crimes related to child pornography.
FULL REMARKS: Senator @HawleyMO previews his concerns with Judge Jackson's judicial record on sex offenders. pic.twitter.com/5k6RvE8yBu
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 21, 2022
Ahead of Jackson's opening day of hearings, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted against Jackson for her current position on the U.S. Court of Appeals last year, issued concerns about the advocacy groups behind her nomination.
"The country needs a respectful, dignified, but vigorous and exhaustive hearing. This is especially true in light of the curious disconnect between the thinness of Judge Jackson’s appellate record and the white-hot intensity with which our country’s farthest-left activists wanted her and nobody else for this vacancy," McConnell said. "Fringe groups that attack the Court’s legitimacy and want partisan court-packing spent a great deal of time and money promoting Judge Jackson for this nomination. And once nominated, prominent soft-on-crime activists and open-borders pressure groups quickly rallied to her side. The Senate needs to understand why."