Senator Hyde-Smith says Jackson’s record indicates a readiness to legislate from the bench.
As expected, Mississippi U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) issued the following statement on Monday regarding her decision to vote against the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court as nominated by President Joe Biden:
“I cannot in good conscience support the confirmation of Judge Jackson.
“I take seriously my responsibility to weigh the merits of each Supreme Court nominee, including their commitment to fairly interpret the law and not substitute their own judgment for that of Congress or the Constitution. I am not confident that Judge Jackson meets that standard after having reviewed her record and confirmation proceedings.
“Judge Jackson’s record indicates a readiness to legislate from the bench, at times in a manner that risks some of the basic freedoms that are at the core of our Constitution. Such activism, for example, has threatened free speech rights and other individual American liberties.
“Judge Jackson may be confirmed to the Supreme Court, but not with my support. As she assumes her historic role on the Supreme Court, I will pray she commits to a fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.”
Hyde-Smith previously voted against confirming Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals in June 2021.
The two women met on March 31 to discuss her nomination.
Jackson’s confirmation received a tie 11-11 vote in the Senate committee vetting her nomination. However, Democratic leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is moving the confirmation forward to the floor for a full vote of the chamber as at least three Republicans have now said they will vote to confirm Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mississippi’s senior U.S. Senator Roger Wicker announced last week that he, too, would be voting against Jackson’s nomination after meeting with her.
READ MORE: WICKER: I will be voting “no” on President Biden’s SCOTUS nominee Judge Jackson
“President Biden has pledged to appoint activist judges, and Judge Jackson has given us no reason to doubt she is that kind of judge,” Wicker wrote in an op-ed for Y’all Politics. “Throughout the Senate confirmation process, she has refused to answer basic questions about her record and her approach to the law. At one point, she indicated that she would restrict religious freedom when it comes to same-sex marriage. She was also totally unable to define what a “woman” is, a sign that she is likeminded with the far left on issues involving the transgender movement.
Wicker went on to say that Jackson’s record raises serious red flags, including the fact that she would not reject the idea of court packing.
Frank Corder
