Opposition to Ketanji Brown Jackson is 'not about race,' Ted Cruz says

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that Republicans' opposition to Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson is "not about race" during his opening statement at her confirmation hearing Monday.
If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
"It's not about race. We will see Democrats and the media suggest that any senator that is skeptical of your nomination, that questions you vigorously, or that dares to vote against you must somehow harbor racial animus," Cruz said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

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.
"I would note we are sitting on a committee where multiple members ... happily filibustered Judge Janice Rogers Brown, a very qualified African American woman nominated to the [United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit], precisely because they wanted to prevent Judge Brown from becoming Justice Brown," he continued.
Judges of the D.C. Circuit Court are not given the title "Justice." Ironically, Brown was referred to as "Justice Brown" during her confirmation hearings because of her seat on the California Supreme Court.
Then-President George W. Bush nominated Brown to the D.C. Circuit Court in 2003, but a filibuster by Senate Democrats — including current Judiciary Committee members Dianne Feinstein of California, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, and Dick Durbin of Illinois — delayed her confirmation for nearly two years.
"The senior Democrats on this committee also filibustered Miguel Estrada, as the staff for [then-]Sen. Ted Kennedy [(D-Mass.)] said in writing at the time ... 'because he is Hispanic,'" said Cruz, who is also Hispanic.
According to a 2013 Washington Examiner article, it was an aide to Durbin — not Kennedy — who wrote in a 2001 email that a group of liberal judicial activists had described Estrada as "especially dangerous, because he has a minimal paper trail, he is Latino, and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment."
Democrats, Cruz said, consistently "crush" minority nominees who challenge liberal "political Orthodoxy."
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
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
'Making memories': the scourge of modern parenting?
In The Spotlight Meghan Markle sends her children emails of each day's 'moments' but is constant 'memory-making' just another burden for parents to bear?
-
Codeword: May 6, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Crossword: May 6, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
-
Putin talks nukes as Kyiv slated for US air defenses
speed read 'I hope they will not be required,' Putin said of nuclear weapons on Russian state TV
-
US, Ukraine sign joint minerals deal
speed read The Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine giving the US access to its mineral wealth
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Israel launches air strike on Beirut suburbs
Speed Read The attack targeting Hezbollah was Israel's third on the Lebanese capital since November's ceasefire
-
Dozens dead in Kashmir as terrorists target tourists
Speed Read Visitors were taking pictures and riding ponies in a popular mountain town when assailants open fired, killing at least 26
-
Israel blames 'failures' for killing of medics
speed read 14 Gaza medics and 1 U.N. employee were killed by IDF special forces
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designation
The Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
China accuses NSA of Winter Games cyberattacks
speed read China alleges that the U.S. National Security Agency launched cyberattacks during the Asian Winter Games in February