Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court hearing kicks off Monday

Three Republicans specifically have been jockeying for the title of worst of the worst in terms of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees: Sens. Josh Hawley, Tom Cotton, and Ted Cruz. Particularly, they’ve barraged one Black lady after one other with significantly hostile questions—hostile past the present Republican regular of vicious partisanship—and the alerts are that Jackson will face the identical remedy.

Final week, Hawley despatched a canine whistle to QAnon, claiming that Jackson’s “file endangers youngsters,” a part of an accusation that Jackson has coddled pedophiles. Jackson was a federal public defender, in accordance with the essential rules that individuals are harmless till confirmed responsible and deserve authorized illustration to mount a protection.

However a number of different Republicans on the committee have signaled that they may be a part of this line of assault, together with suggesting that Jackson is pro-terrorist as a result of she represented detainees at Guantánamo Bay on habeas corpus points (one other key constitutional precept). Jackson’s work there contributed to a Supreme Court docket victory on the proper of detainees to problem their detention.

Republicans are being stretched to some very weak assaults as a result of Jackson’s stellar file, cautious authorized reasoning, and robust ethics—she has a file of recusing herself at occasions when different judges may not—do not depart a lot room for official critique. Republicans disagree along with her on numerous vital points, to make sure, and most of them would vote in opposition to her on that foundation. However the tenor of the assaults coming from Hawley, Cotton, and Cruz could be very a lot an try at private character assassination as a result of the sight of a Black lady rising excessive on her personal achievements is a singularly enraging one for these three conceited little jackwagons (every of whom fancies himself a constitutional regulation authority whereas routinely trampling on constitutional rules for partisan benefit) and for giant chunks of the Republican base that Hawley, Cotton, and Cruz all hope to win over in a future presidential major.

By way of their predictable and offensive assaults, Jackson must preserve her cool and supply cautious, uncontroversial solutions. Any flicker of the self-righteous rage displayed by Justices Brett Kavanaugh or Clarence Thomas in response to credible accusations of sexual assault or sexual harassment can be solely unacceptable from Jackson as a Black lady nominated by a Democratic president.

That may all come Tuesday and Wednesday, although. Monday, we are going to largely hear committee members bloviating, and get a contemporary spherical of warnings on simply how dangerous Hawley, Cotton, and Cruz—together with fellow Republicans like Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Mike Lee—can be.

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