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Senate Judicial Committee chairman Dick Durbin is still seeking bipartisan confirmation from the judge Ketanji Brown Jackson before the Supreme Court, even if the hearings have sometimes “derailed”.
“That’s still my hope,” Durbin told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
Jackson got three GOP votes last year for his confirmation to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska.
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But the moment Biden announced his nomination of Jackson to the Supreme Court, Graham was highly critical, in part because Biden ignored his suggestion: South Carolina District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs. Graham said Biden’s choice of Jackson shows “the radical left has won.”
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Graham sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and was one of Jackson’s toughest interlocutors this week, accusing him of being “wrong” on sentencing decisions involving child pornography cases.
When asked on Wednesday if Durbin had spoken to him about securing his vote, Graham told reporters, “I love Dick, we’re still talking.”
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On whether he can support Jackson, Graham told Fox News Digital, “Stay tuned.”
During Wednesday’s hearing, Graham had a combative line of questioning with Jackson about her approach to sentencing in child pornography cases and said she should have given some offenders more time behind bars.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, arrives for a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
“There’s been an explosion of child pornography due to the internet and computer systems, and she refuses to use it as a phrase amplifier, which I think puts her at the bottom of the scale,” Graham said. during a break in the hearing. “And second, it won’t look at the number of images uploaded. I think those are two errors.”
Graham also distanced himself from QAnon, a plot that a group of Satan-worshipping elites who run a pedophilia ring are trying to control politics and the media. When asked if he was concerned his remarks conflicted with QAnon conspiracies, Graham told reporters, “I think the people at QAnon are crazy. This is chilling behavior. “
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During Supreme Court hearings, Durbin occasionally intervened when questions from Graham and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, got too heated, leaving Jackson room to respond without interruption if she wished.
The tone of the hearings so far has been “for the most part, very positive, with a few exceptions,” Durbin said during a break.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., questions Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon )
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
He declined to name specific senators.
“I don’t name names,” Durbin said. “I’m just saying a few people got off track, and I’m disappointed, but we’re going to keep doing our job.”
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Collins, another potential ‘yes’ vote for Jackson, said earlier this week that she still had unanswered questions about Jackson. judicial philosophy to which we must respond.
“I had a really good 90-minute meeting with her. But during that meeting, I didn’t get enough information about her legal philosophy. And that’s very important to me,” Collins said. , R-Maine, on Monday before the start of hearings.
Fox News’ Tyler Olson and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
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