GOP knives extra sharp ahead of Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmation hearings
![Josh Hawley and Ketanji Brown Jackson.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Xdbo5LfSVFzk7TP4LoptTb-415-80.jpg)
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) took the gloves off ahead of the confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden's nominee for the Supreme Court. After weeks of vague expressions of concerns about her judicial philosophy and "dark money" groups, Hawley slammed Jackson for being soft on people who prey on children.
Hawley described it as a consistent part of Jackson's record as a judge in a Wednesday evening Twitter storm. "As far back as her time in law school, Judge Jackson has questioned making convicts register as sex offenders — saying it leads to 'stigmatization and ostracism.' She's suggested public policy is driven by a 'climate of fear, hatred & revenge' against sex offenders," he said.
The next day, the Republican National Committee blasted out an email on Jackson with the subject line, "Sympathetic to terrorists AND pedophiles?" The missive added an article about Jackson's work on behalf of a Guantanamo Bay detainee when she was a public defender to Hawley's critique. "What other criminals is Ketanji Brown Jackson an advocate for?" the message concludes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If this becomes a bigger part of the Republican messaging against Jackson — which remains to be seen — it would mark a significant escalation of their approach to confirmation fights. GOP senators pressed Elena Kagan on her judicial experience (or lack thereof). Sonia Sotomayor faced questions about her "wise Latina" speech and the role emotion would play in her rulings. But even that is pretty mild compared to a soft-on-pedophiles line of attack. When Republicans blocked Merrick Garland, they didn't hold hearings to talk about him at all.
Hawley's line of questioning could encourage a more scorched earth approach among ambitious Republicans, in contrast with leadership's preferences. "I think she's intelligent, very likely progressive. [The] Senate Republican minority intends to treat the nominee respectfully. I'm not at all interested, for example, in what someone may have written in her high school yearbook," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said of Jackson.
Some Republicans might have been inclined to give the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court a pass. Jackson will not affect the court's balance, unlike replacing the late Justice Antonin Scalia with Garland or Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Conservatives would still on most questions have a 6-3 advantage.
But Hawley was pressing for Republicans to take a harder line on nominees even than under former President Donald Trump. Conservatives have long expressed disappointment with the rulings of some GOP-appointed justices, while Democratic appointees have reliably joined the liberal bloc.
If Hawley prevails here, it will make the "wise Latina" episode look like a slumber party.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
The Democrats 'resigned to a second Trump presidency'
Talking Points Did the assassination attempt end Biden's election chances?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Venezuela election: first vote in a decade offers hope to poverty-stricken nation
The Explainer Nicolás Maduro agreed to 'free and fair' vote but poor polling and threat of prosecution pushes disputed leader to desperate methods
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Are down-ticket Democrats doomed?
Talking Points President Joe Biden's refusal to step back from his reelection campaign has some local Democrats wondering if their own races are in trouble — but not everyone is worried
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Fascism feasts on violence'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published