Senate Begins Work To Confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson To Supreme Court As Several Republicans Signal Openness

As President Joe Biden‘s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson prepares for what could be a contentious confirmation process, several Republicans have signaled they could back her.

The confirmation process will first move to the U.S. Senate which has a 50-50 spilt between parties. Democrats will try to keep their members together for the former public defender. That would be enough for Jackson to be confirmed to the High Court since Republicans abolished the 60-vote filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominations in 2017.

However, according to NBC News, White House and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, (D-IL) said they will try to lobby Republican votes for Jackson. One Republican that has already indicated he will support Jackson’s nomination is Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who called her nomination “historic.”

“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is an experienced jurist, and I know her historic nomination will inspire many,” Romney said in a statement Friday. “I look forward to meeting in person with Judge Jackson, thoroughly reviewing her record and testimony, and evaluating her qualifications during this process.”

Durbin added he hopes to complete the confirmation process by April 9 and has sent the White House the traditional questionnaire for Supreme Court nominees. Once it is completed and sent back to the committee, Jackson will begin meeting with Senators.

Durbin also said that Jackson has a distinct advantage when it comes to her confirmation. Last year, she sat before the committee when Biden promoted her to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The appeals court is considered a stepping stone to the high court with three current justices having served on it in the past.

If Jackson is confirmed, she will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, who was pressured by many to retire from the bench so Biden could install a younger justice who could serve decades in the role. Former President Barack Obama pushed Ruth Bader Ginsburg to give up her seat, but she refused and died when former President Donald Trump was in office. Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett.