Joe Manchin blasts GOP behavior toward Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson: 'It was disgraceful'
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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Manchin criticized GOP behavior toward Judge Jackson during her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
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"I think she's extremely well-qualified and I think she'll be an exemplary judge," the senator said.
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Several Republicans on the Judiciary Committee used the hearings to showcase their opinions on hot-button issues.
Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday criticized the behavior exhibited by Republicans toward Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearings last week, according to The Hill.
The West Virginia Democrat — who announced on Friday that he would support Jackson's confirmation to the high court — said GOP senators who repeatedly cut off the federal judge while she was seeking to explain her sentencing decisions exhibited poor judgment.
"It was disgraceful, it really was, what I saw," he told reporters. "And I met with her and I read all the transcripts. I listened to basically the hearings and it just was embarrassing."
Manchin added: "It's not who we are. It's not what we were sent here to do, to attack other people and just try to tear them down. I won't be part of that. I think she's extremely well-qualified and I think she'll be an exemplary judge."
The senator's comments seemingly refer to the aggressive tone taken by Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Josh Hawley of Missouri, with the GOP lawmakers pressing Jackson on everything from critical race theory to her sentencing for sex-related cases.
Graham — still livid over the 2018 hearings of now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh and disappointed that President Joe Biden didn't nominate J. Michelle Childs, a judge on the US District Court for the District of South Carolina, to the high court — repeatedly cut off Brown during his needling her on her judicial record. He was one of three Republican senators who backed Jackson's confirmation to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last year, but a "yes" vote for her appointment to the Supreme Court appears unlikely.
Cruz and Hawley may be among a group of GOP lawmakers angling for future presidential candidacies. The Texas senator has already run before, coming up short to former President Donald Trump in 2016.
Both men repeatedly asked Jackson about sentencing guidelines, with Brown continuing to explain her reasoning for granting specific lengths of sentences on the second day of questioning.
"What I regret is that in a hearing about my qualifications to be a justice on the Supreme Court, we've spent a lot of time focusing on this small subset of my sentences," Jackson said to Hawley during an exchange last week.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin on Tuesday told reporters that "four or five" Republican senators declined to show a proper level of respect toward Jackson. The Illinois Democrat proceeded to call out lawmakers whom he believes used the confirmation hearings as a vehicle to promote themselves.
"This notion of asking the toughest and meanest questions and then race to Twitter to see if somebody is tweeting it ... I mean that's as bad as playing to the cameras on the worst day," he said.
Manchin's support basically seals Jackson's confirmation, as no other Senate Democrat has indicated that they will oppose her appointment to the high court. With the Senate split 50-50, Democrats can install Jackson with 50 votes and the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris, but the party hopes to peel off some Republican support.
Two GOP votes for Jackson may come from Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who supported Jackson's confirmation to the DC federal appeals court.
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, a member of the Judiciary Committee, praised Jackson's character but announced on Friday that he would be unable to support her confirmation.
The No. 2 Senate Republican — John Thune of South Dakota — on Tuesday lauded Brown's personal achievements on the Senate floor, but also declined to back her confirmation to the high court.
Jackson's nomination will have to get through the full Judiciary Committee on April 4 — which is split evenly among Democrats and Republicans. A tie vote on the committee would add another procedural hurdle for the nomination, forcing Democratic leaders to file a discharge petition for a vote on the Senate floor before a final vote.
Democrats hope to have Jackson confirmed before the Senate's forthcoming Easter recess.
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When Joe Manchin turns on the conservatives you know they have f'd up.
lol.. a democrat attacks republicans
Joe Manchin has said, more than once, that he is not a liberal. He's one of you, albeit a little more moderate. Think Jack Kemp.
The right hee hawed over Judge Jackson's supposed gaffes and blunders, but Americans looked at it more as pointless, ridiculous bullying on the part of the conservative senators.
Well yeah she can't define a woman. Amazing she's been able to fill out all those forms her whole life asking for her sex. Does she guess?
but Americans looked at it more as pointless
That answer was gold. It's going to be used over and over for months. No matter what Dailykos says, that doesn't play well outside the far left bubble.
I hope that their nastiness to her will be remembered by the voters in November - I think they were fools to go overboard on her. It would raise my opinion of Americans generally if they have taken umbrage at what occurred and show it with their votes. I would have an iota of respect for Republican Senators if they exhibited the integrity that Democrat Senators didn't with Kavanaugh, and didn't childishly act out "getting even".
When asked for their definition of a woman, the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously agreed: "The obedient servant of her husband."
With the notable exceptions of Justice Thomas and his wife.
In that case, many liberals are claiming the exact opposite.
Biden promised to nominate a woman. Was she surprised? How did she know she fit his criteria?
What the GOP did to her was nothing compared to the dirty tricks the Dems pulled on Kavanaugh. Voters are pretty much immune to this behavior on both sides for SCOTUS nominees now.
There really isn't much that could happen to turn the tide the Dems face in November.
They think it's perfectly reasonable to accuse a nominee of leading a rape gang in high school, but asking a judge to discuss her actual judicial record is a basically a crime against humanity.
Lol...Funny how that works.
The reactionaries' idiocy about this whole topic just proves how totally clueless THEY are.
Lol.. How? Is she that inarticulate? What happens when a "woman" sues under Title IX? How will Jackson know if she's a woman?
It was a disastrous answer, and all the spin in the world from the far left bubble isn't going to change that.
ies' idiocy about this whole topic just proves how totally clueless THEY are.
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Having been at a Folk Festival in what seems like a thousand years ago I watched a performance by Maria Muldaur singing "I'm a Woman" with the Jim Kweskin Jug Band. Wish I could find her singing it on bilibili or Youku, but there is a more jazzed-up version of it on YouKu. However, you might find the original on YouTube. Here are the words to the song. Perhaps you should read them first....
I could fantasize Jackson jumping up out of her seat and singing that in reply to here being asked to define "woman".
Watch it...(LINK) ->
he Illinois Democrat proceeded to call out lawmakers whom he believes used the confirmation hearings as a vehicle to promote themselves.
That's an award winning example of a total lack of self awareness.
And speaking of a lack of 'self-awareness'.
Yes, go ahead, blame it on Helsinki.
Like I said. And THAT too is coming.
Ketanji Brown Jackson is the most popular Supreme Court nominee in years
Yes, she pretended to be a Scalia clone. Quite a win for progressives that they have to pretend to be conservative to look reasonable,
I'm sure the Senate vote will reflect that.
I watched some of the..........uh.........proceedings.
Paraphrasing, "Define a woman."
Manchin is of course correct. It was.
Most of the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee looked like complete fools. Judge Jackson was a towering figure compared to those feeble-minded nothings.
I didn’t get to hear everything, but I do agree that some of the Republican senators took ridiculous approaches with her, no question. On the other hand, as a group, they were generally better behaved than Democrats have been with the last few conservative nominees.
This time around, we didn’t have the ridiculous protests, deep dives into the nominee’s adolescence, or bizarre accusations that we suffered through previously. At least this time, most of the silliness I saw was actually focused on issues relevant to legal controversies. That’s something, I suppose.
For a process that has become extremely tribal over the last decade, this hearing process was almost a breath of fresh air by comparison and actually gave me a little hope for the future. Supreme Court nomination hearings will probably always inspire a little irrational hysteria because some issues are deeply divisive.
However, I feel like maybe we have actually taken a step back from the abyss this time. I am hopeful that Jackson will receive at least 60 votes. In my opinion, she deserves 90, but we haven’t come back that far yet.
Wow, for one day at least, Manchin isn't a pariah in the Democratic Party.
LOL
Surprised me as well.