Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced on Friday that he will vote to confirm President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“I met with Judge Jackson and evaluated her qualifications to be a Supreme Court Justice. After meeting with her, considering her record, and closely monitoring her testimony and questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, I have determined I intend to vote for her nomination to serve on the Supreme Court,” Manchin said in a statement.
Although the other moderate Democratic senator, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, has not revealed her decision, Newsweek reported that she voted for all 42 district court judges confirmed by the Senate last year.
If Sinema is a yes vote, Jackson is almost certain to become the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court.
Will Democrats be able to claim her confirmation was bipartisan?
Probably yes.
The most likely Republican senator to support Jackson is Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Collins was one of three GOP senators to vote for Jackson’s 2021 confirmation to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Politico reports that “Democrats are pushing hard for her vote. President Joe Biden has called Collins at least three times about the Supreme Court vacancy, including the day he made his selection, while Durbin reached out shortly after Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement announcement.”
Collins has not announced her decision, but according to the report, she described her recent private meeting with Jackson as “lengthy and very productive.”
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who also voted for Jackson’s confirmation last year, is another potential yes vote.
Local media outlet Must Read Alaska reported on Tuesday that betting markets are expecting Murkowski to vote yes. They cite “PredictIt, the online prediction tool that allows people to essentially bet on real political outcomes.” Asked if Murkowski will be a “yea vote,” 61 percent of “over 64,151 shares” predicted she will support Jackson.
Politico spoke to Murkowski on Wednesday. Asked about Jackson’s sentencing history in child pornography cases, she said it is “worth looking into.”
“If it really is a pattern,” Murkowski said, “that’s something I think we should be paying attention to. If it is an issue of … one-offs that have been hyped into more than that, I think that’s something we need to try to discern.”
Psssst: It is a pattern. Look at her record.
Murkowski, who voted to convict former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, is running for reelection this November and a vote for the far left Jackson may not sit well with her constituents. Especially if her opponent is former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
It’s possible that GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah could vote yes. On Tuesday, he criticized his Republican colleagues over their attacks on Jackson’s sentencing record.
He told The Washington Post, “It struck me that it was off course, meaning the attacks were off course that came from some. And there is no there, there.”
Romney tells @pkcapitol that these accusations that Jackson was somewhat lenient on certain crimes was “off course” and that “there is no there, there.” https://t.co/LNBXAmEVJy
(sorry about my headshot being here when PK did the actual reporting work) pic.twitter.com/fAXqfkO9Fb
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) March 22, 2022
In an early March interview, Romney was asked about Jackson’s nomination. He replied: “It’s historic for an African American woman to be nominated. My heart would like to be able to vote for her confirmation. But I will not do so unless I’m satisfied she is in the mainstream of judicial thought and consistent with what I think the course of our judicial philosophy will be.”
Politico includes Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on their list because he was the third Republican to vote for Jackson’s confirmation to the D.C. Circuit Court last year.
But after his heated exchange with Jackson during the hearing, all bets are off.
KBJ: “With one click, you can distribute tens of thousands [of child porn]. You can be doing this for 15 minutes and all of a sudden, you are looking at 30, 40, 50 years in prison.”
Graham: “Good!” pic.twitter.com/znnVcyWNoO
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 23, 2022
Rounding out Politico’s list of possible Republican defections are Sens. Roy Blunt of Missouri, Rob Portman of Ohio and Richard Burr of North Carolina, all of whom are retiring at the end of their terms. Chances that any of them will support Jackson are slim.
Democrats plan to hold a confirmation vote before the April 9 Senate recess.
A previous version of this article was published on The Western Journal.
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Marsha Blackburn took care of exposing how many completely stupid people there are in politics, in Congress. If someone can’t, or won’t, answer her question about the word “Woman” they have no business in Congress. If a “Woman” can’t, or won’t, answer the question, other than to say “She” is not a biologist, “She” is not qualified to sit on the Supreme Court, for so many obvious reasons that my dog could probably see through.
However, my dog is more qualified to be a politician, in Congress, than any of those you mentioned. Even Joe Manchin, that guy who has been considered as the savior of the Republican minority. Since Joe Manchin says he intends to vote for her confirmation, he is as much a moron as any Republican could ever be. I’ve been saying to never trust a Democrat, especially those like Joe Manchin. They will let you down, in a heartbeat.
We are going to see further erosion of the Supreme Court’s collective intelligence, simply by the addition of this unqualified woman to the high bench.
We will see how influential Mitch McConnell’s leadership is. He did make a statement in the senate, and probably privately to his caucus, that the senate Republican caucus should vote strongly against KBJ’s confirmation. If he is successful, it may be the only thing that makes a single Manchin or Sinema vote against KBJ a possibility. Sinema is probably the most likely Democrat to waiver on casting a confirmation vote, since Manchin already made his signal. Jackson is absolutely not qualified, and all of them know it.
Making Biden choose another to fill that vacancy would signal the end of his presidency, and the bulk of Democrats are already looking for that excuse. I don’t expect any miracles, but they do occasionally happen.
With all the blunders and tragedies of the Biden administration, this one does not need to be added to the list, just because someone is black and maybe a woman. And the excuse that it is one idiot replacing another idiot, thereby not changing the Court is no excuse for it to happen.
This is the time to be playing a full court press.