Senate Republicans, In Their Own Words: Judge Jackson Would Not Even Receive A Hearing Under GOP Majority

A wave of news coverage is calling out Senate Republicans for stating that a GOP Senate would not have even given Judge Jackson – the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court – a hearing, reinforcing the stakes of this year’s election and reminding voters why we must protect and expand our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices.

CNN Inside Politics – Jackie Kucinich:

• “I think they just got an attack ad with what Lindsey Graham said about not… even getting a committee hearing if Republicans had been in charge.”

• “So I’m sure the DSCC – the Democratic campaign committee in the Senate – has already cut that and are sending it out.”

TheGrio: Senate battles continue over Supreme Court ahead of committee vote on nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson

• Despite Judge Jackson’s almost certain confirmation, the Judiciary Committee was not without contention over her nomination. During a speech on Monday, Sen. Lindsay Graham, who voted for Jackson when she was confirmed for the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court but said last week that he would not vote to confirm her for the Supreme Court, Graham slammed Democrats over the Supreme Court process.

• Sen. Graham vowed that if Republicans were to gain back control of the Senate, “the process you started to go to a simple majority vote is going to rear its head.”

• In a statement responding to Graham’s committee remarks provided to theGrio, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said, “Senate Republicans admit that if they held the majority, the first Black woman, and one of the most qualified people nominated to serve on the Supreme Court would not even have received a hearing.

• “The ridiculous double standard and vicious attacks Judge Jackson has been subjected to underscore what’s at stake for Black Americans in this election – and they will energize Black voters to make our voices heard. The stakes for protecting and expanding our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices could not be more clear.”

NewsOne: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Is One Step Closer To Confirmation

• The theatrics from certain Republicans are more about political theater for the 2022 midterm election than Jackson’s qualifications. 

• In a statement emailed to NewsOne, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesperson Freedom Alexander Murphy challenged a “ridiculous double standard” being applied to Jackson. 

• “Senate Republicans admit that if they held the majority, the first Black woman and one of the most qualified people nominated to serve on the Supreme Court would not even have received a hearing,” Murphy said. “The stakes for protecting and expanding our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices could not be more clear.”

The Hill: Graham says if GOP were in charge, Jackson wouldn’t have been nominee

• Democrats immediately seized on Graham’s comments, arguing that they underscored why Democrats need to keep control of the majority in the Senate November election.

• “If Senate Republicans had their way, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court would not even have received a hearing,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesperson Nora Keefe.

• “Republicans’ shameful and relentless attacks on a nominee as qualified as Judge Jackson reinforce the stakes of this year’s election and will remind voters why we must defend and expand our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices,” she added.

Axios: Graham: Judge Jackson wouldn’t be nominee if “we were in charge”

• Why it matters: With the upcoming 2022 midterm elections, Democrats’ slim majority in the Senate hangs in the balance.

• “If Senate Republicans had their way, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court would not even have received a hearing,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Nora Keefe in a statement.

• She added: “Republicans’ shameful and relentless attacks on a nominee as qualified as Judge Jackson reinforce the stakes of this year’s election and will remind voters why we must defend and expand our Democratic Senate majority with the power to confirm Supreme Court justices.”

MSNBC Morning Joe – Jonathan Lemire:

• “This from Lindsey Graham yesterday is sort of stunning, to suggest that if the other party controls the Senate… the president may never get a Supreme Court justice, that they wouldn’t even bring them to a vote for a committee hearing.”

• “He’s saying that if Republicans were in charge, we wouldn’t even bring her to a vote.”

• “He seems to be setting a marker for a very dangerous gridlock going forward.”

MSNBC: Why Lindsey Graham’s new declaration on SCOTUS nominees matters

• To see Jackson as an extremist is to pretend reality has no meaning. We are, after all, talking about a respected and experienced jurist whose nomination has been endorsed by several leading law enforcement organizations and a variety of prominent conservative voices from the legal community.

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