WATCH LIVE: Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson makes opening statement at historic confirmation hearing. Special Report now:
WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson pledged on Monday to decide cases"without fear or favor" if the Senate confirms her historic nomination as the first Black woman on the high court.
"I have dedicated my career to ensuring that the words engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building - and equal justice under law - are a reality and not just an ideal," she said.The ABC News team analyzes Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's opening statements at her historic confirmation hearing.
Jackson"is not anti-law enforcement," and is not"soft on crime," Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., said, noting that members of Jackson's family have worked in law enforcement and that she has support from some national law enforcement organizations."Judge Jackson is no judicial activist." Graham was one of three Republicans to support Jackson's confirmation as an appellate judge last year. But he has indicated over the past several weeks that he is unlikely to vote for her again.Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson says she was was "truly humbled" by "the extraordinary honor" after President Joe Biden announced her nomination to the Supreme Court.
Janette McCarthy Wallace, general counsel of the NAACP, said she was excited to see a Black woman on the verge of a high court seat. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in his opening statement that his research showed that Jackson had a pattern of issuing lower sentences in child pornography cases, repeating comments he wrote in a Twitter thread last week. The Republican National Committee echoed his claims, which Hawley did not raise when he questioned Jackson last year before voting against her appeals court confirmation.
Hawley is one of several committee Republicans, along with Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who are potential 2024 presidential candidates, and their aspirations may collide with other Republicans who would prefer not to pursue a scorched-earth approach to Jackson's nomination.
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