Your briefing on developments in the Supreme Court confirmation battle.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson, brow furrowed, asked his listeners Wednesday night how anybody can be expected to tolerate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation if the White House doesn’t release her LSAT scores. This is a democracy, goddamnit.
Why Carlson wants to know her scores is a mystery. He said that it would “settle the question conclusively as to whether she’s a ‘once-in-a-generation’ legal talent,” despite the fact that the LSATs only have bearing on law school admissions. He may be confusing the test with the Bar Exam, which determines a person’s ability to actually practice law.
More likely, he’s just looking for a) something to smear Jackson with and b) a distraction from the unfettered affection for Russian leader Vladimir Putin he expressed before global sentiment shifted so aggressively against Russia. Many observers have accused him of racism for attempting to undermine Jackson’s sterling qualifications.
Luján Is Back!
- Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) is back in the Senate just one month after being hospitalized with a stroke.
- He received a standing ovation at his first committee meeting back, and told reporters that he’s “feeling strong.”
- His return has the added bonus of quieting concerns that Democrats won’t have the 50 members needed to confirm Jackson to the high Court.
Color McConnell Impressed
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) came out of his meeting with Jackson saying that there’s “no question” she’s qualified to serve on the bench.
- “I enjoyed meeting Judge Jackson,” he tweeted. “One crucial Supreme Court qualification is judicial philosophy. The nation needs Justices who uphold the rule of law by applying our laws and Constitution as written. I’ll be studying the Judge’s record and views during the vigorous process ahead.”
- Remember, Republicans have some incentive here to support Jackson’s nomination, or at least to not vociferously oppose it. They already have a supermajority on the Court, and Jackson’s confirmation wouldn’t change that. Helping a Democratic president confirm an appointee with a bipartisan vote, GOP senators may theorize, would lend legitimacy to a body experts see as the most far-right Court the country’s had in a century, and one that — with or without Jackson — will remain controlled by Justices appointed by Republican presidents who lost the popular vote.
