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."
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.
-
Could Iran's water crisis be the regime's tipping point?
Today's Big Question Drought is a problem. So is government mismanagement.
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Nayib Bukele
Speed Read New constitutional changes will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fight
Speed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry grows
Speed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months
-
Rubio says US brokered end to Syria conflict
Speed Read Syria's defense ministry was targeted in Israeli attacks on the capital