Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Monday announced her support for the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, joins other high-profile Republicans, including Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine who said they will support the confirmation.
“After multiple in-depth conversations with Judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court,” Murkowski said in a statement. “My support rests on Judge Jackson’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 Justice Breyer.”
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The announcement comes after a deadlocked 11-11 decision by the Senate Judiciary Committee that broke along party lines on whether to send her nomination to the Senate floor. Murkowski said her decision comes as she pushes back against the increasingly fraught process of replacing Supreme Court seats.
“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,” Murkowski said. “While I have not and will not agree with all of Judge Jackson’s decisions and opinions, her approach to cases is carefully considered and is generally well-reasoned.”
The Judiciary Committee’s tie vote opens a pathway for the nomination to proceed to the full Senate, with confirmation possible by the end of the week.
“She answered satisfactorily to my questions about matters like the Chevron doctrine, the Second Amendment, landmark Alaska laws, and Alaska Native issues. The support she has received from law enforcement agencies around the country is significant and demonstrates the judge is one who brings balance to her decisions,” Murkowski said. “I will support the motion to discharge Judge Jackson’s nomination later tonight, and her confirmation later this week.”
The last time the committee deadlocked on a confirmation vote was in 1991 over the confirmation of Clarence Thomas.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, does not yet have a stance on the confirmation, said a spokesperson from his office.
“The Senator takes his constitutional duty to provide advice and consent very seriously for every Senate-confirmed position, especially judges and justices who hold lifetime appointments,” said Sullivan’s press secretary Ben Dietderich in an email. “He is still evaluating Judge Brown Jackson’s judicial philosophy and record.”
Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
