Confirmation hearings for Jackson conclude after testimony from outside witnesses

Padilla says bipartisan support for Jackson important for public trust in court

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) ended the fourth day of Jackson's confirmation hearings by calling for bipartisan support for Biden's nominee, even though she would be confirmed even if only Democrats voted for her.

Padilla noted Jackson's litany of qualifications — degrees from Harvard; clerkships at the federal district court, at the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court; two years as a federal public defender; service on the U.S. Sentencing Commission; and three separate, bipartisan confirmations by the Senate — and asked the witnesses what it would mean if someone with so much background and experience could not earn bipartisan support.

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said, "It would be a sad day in America." Wade Henderson, interim president of the nonprofit Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said it would send the wrong message to the American people, that perhaps "preparation may not be the standard by which you are measured" and that instead the process was muddied by something intangible.

"Her background is absolutely extraordinary, and her demonstration and mastery of the law is second to none," Henderson said. "My hope is that the partisan considerations that may have affected some in the questioning of Judge Jackson will be set aside and that members of this committee, out of their love for the country and its people and the future of the court, will do what's right."

Henderson said he hoped Jackson could receive a unanimously confirmed appointment but admitted he was "dreaming."

"But certainly I think sending a signal to the country that indeed we recognize the qualifications that she brings to the table and we lift them up in the name of the American people is something that I hope we can all do," he said.

Rep. Beatty says GOP has targeted Jackson with ‘bad-faith' attacks

Rep. Joyce Beatty, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Thursday that Jackson has been subjected to "bad-faith" attacks by Republicans despite having a record that surpasses those of her predecessors.

Beatty (D-Ohio) noted that last year, Jackson was confirmed by the Senate "on a bipartisan vote to serve on the [U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit] and that she clerked for Justice [Stephen] Breyer, whose very seat she is being considered for."

"Sadly, but not surprisingly, Judge Jackson has been the subject of unfair attacks. These bad-faith efforts exist despite a résumé that arguably surpasses those of previous nominees," Beatty said on the last day of Jackson's Senate confirmation hearings.

She also noted that the Supreme Court "consisted exclusively of White men" for more than two centuries since America's founding, and that Jackson would be only the sixth woman and the first Black woman to serve on the country's highest court.

"Judge Jackson's confirmation will send a message to Black women and little girls like my granddaughter Leah, whose mother is the first Black woman to serve on the 10th District Court of Appeals," Beatty said. "And Leah's first known president was a Black man. And now she sees a Black female vice president. So if a guidance counselor tells her, ‘Your goals are too high,' she will remember how Judge Jackson soared against adversity as one of our nation's brightest legal minds."

Beatty concluded by stating that Jackson "will be a judge that will serve all of America and all of America can be proud of."

This article was originally published in The Washington Post on March 25, 2022.