Earlier today, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court received a tie vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee. No Republicans voted in favor of the nomination.
News -- In a party-line vote, Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocks 11-11 on the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to SCOTUS.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 4, 2022
Next up: A vote tonight to discharge the nomination by full Senate. Simple majority is needed
Cloture vote: Thursday
Confirmation: Thursday or Friday
The theme of today's hearing was that there are still significant questions that remain unanswered about Judge Jackson's record and judicial philosophy. Democrat members of the Committee complained (as usual) that the Republicans would dare ask for answers to questions that are foundational to understanding whether a nominee is qualified to serve on the Court. The fact of the matter is that Democrats know that many Americans would not be happy if they knew the truth about Judge Jackson's record.
The White House and Democrats have repeatedly shielded important parts of Judge Jackson’s records. pic.twitter.com/E8U67hXeGt
— Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) April 4, 2022
“If the questions are ‘hard,’ it’s because [Judge Jackson’s] record is at the extreme.” @SenTedCruz
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) April 4, 2022
Judge Jackson has been “extraordinarily deft and artful in her ability to speak at length without saying anything of substance on critical questions—especially the limits of juridical power and the importance of judicial restraint.” @SenJohnKennedy
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) April 4, 2022
Because the nomination did not receive a majority vote, the full Senate will now vote on whether to discharge the nomination from the Committee.
There will now be up to 4 hours of debate, followed by a vote on the motion to discharge the Jackson nomination from Judiciary Committee.
— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) April 4, 2022
SCOTUS trivia: This will be the first discharge petition on a nominee since 1853. https://t.co/I3m553E60s
— Ilya Shapiro (@ishapiro) April 4, 2022
As The Article III Project's Mike Davis points out, today should be a win for Democrats. However, if Judge Jackson is confirmed, the American people will not take kindly to a radical justice being placed on the Court.
This should've been a political triumph for Senate Democrats.
— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) April 4, 2022
Instead, political loss.
Much bigger political loss in November.
They know it.
They were despondent today.
Judge Jackson is a radical judge.
They didn't do their homework.
We did it for them.@Article3Project
A confirmation vote is expected to be held by the end of this week.