Romney, Murkowski will vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are the latest Republicans to say they will vote to confirm President Biden's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Last week, Rep. Susan Collins (R-Maine) became the first member of the GOP to say she would support Jackson's confirmation.
In a statement released Monday night, Murkowski said her decision to back Jackson rests on the judge's "qualifications, which no one questions; her demonstrated judicial independence; her demeanor and temperament; and the important perspective she would bring to the court as a replacement for [retiring] Justice [Stephen] Breyer. It also rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year."
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Romney tweeted that he has reviewed Jackson's record and testimony, and concluded that she is "a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor. While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity. I congratulate Judge Jackson on her expected confirmation and look forward to her continued service to our nation."
On Monday night, after the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on sending Jackson's nomination to the Senate floor, the full Senate voted 53-47 to "discharge" her nomination. A confirmation vote is expected by the end of the week.
So far, nearly every Democratic senator has said they will vote for Jackson, and with the Senate split 50-50, the three GOP votes all but assure she will be confirmed and become the United States' first Black female Supreme Court justice.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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