Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will have at least one Republican backing her confirmation, as Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she will vote for her.
Collins is the first GOP senator to announce that she will support President Biden’s pick for the high court.
“After reviewing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s extensive record, watching much of her hearing testimony, and meeting with her twice in person, I have concluded that she possesses the experience, qualifications, and integrity to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court,” Collins said in a statement. “I will, therefore, vote to confirm her to this position.”
Collins had two private meetings with Jackson since Biden announced the nomination. Collins noted that they “discussed in depth several issues that were raised in her hearing,” including a number on which they disagreed. She recognized that if Jackson does join the high court, there are sure to be decisions on which they disagree.
“That alone, however, is not disqualifying,” Collins said, pointing out that the same holds true for each of the six justices she has voted to confirm in the past. Collins had also voted to confirm Jackson to lower courts, including her current position on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
It remains to be seen whether other Republicans will vote to confirm Jackson. No Democrats voted in favor of confirming the most recent addition to the court, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was the last of three justices selected by former President Donald Trump. Nearly every Democrat opposed Trump’s first two picks, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Collins commented on how politics has changed the Supreme Court confirmation process, as in the past senators would typically go along with a president’s choice.
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