U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis both said on Friday they look forward to meeting with President Joe Biden’s nominee to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated by Biden on Friday to become the next U.S. Supreme Court justice, succeeding Justice Stephen Breyer, who will retire at the end of his term, when the court takes its summer recess. Breyer has served as a Supreme Court justice since 1994 and was nominated to the post by former President Bill Clinton.
Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated for a Supreme Court justice. Only two Black men, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, have served as justices.
Barrasso said the Senate would focus on Jackson’s legal decisions of the past in making its decision on confirmation.
“We won’t follow the radical Democrat playbook of baseless character assassination and personal attacks,” Barrasso said. “Our next Supreme Court justice will make decisions that impact Wyoming and our country for generations. That’s why it’s important to confirm a justice who will apply the law, not legislate from the bench. It is critical that the Senate takes all the time it needs to thoroughly evaluate Judge Jackson’s record and past decisions. The American people cannot afford for this process to be rushed.”
Barrasso said he looked forward to meeting with Jackson in person soon and learning more about her judicial philosophy and understanding of the U.S. Constitution.
Lummis echoed similar sentiments in a tweet she posted on Friday.
“I’m looking forward to meeting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as we consider her nomination to the Supreme Court,” Lummis said. “It’s important that we have a justice who impartially interprets the Constitution, maintains separation of powers & federalism and who upholds our constitutional rights.”
Jackson is a Harvard Law School graduate and has been serving as a district court judge since 2012, when she was nominated by former President Barack Obama.
Former President Donald Trump nominated two Supreme Court justices during his term, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s spokesman Jeremy Adler did not immediately return Cowboy State Daily’s request for comment on Friday.
