Graham on Jackson nomination: ‘The radical Left’ won ‘yet again’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Friday released a statement dismissive of President Biden’s decision to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had been openly lobbying the White House to select district court Judge J. Michelle Childs from his state to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.

“If media reports are accurate, and Judge Jackson has been chosen as the Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Breyer, it means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again,” Graham said in a statement. 

Jackson, who would be the first Black woman to serve on the high court, was approved to be on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. less than a year ago by the Senate. 

Graham was one of only three Republicans at the time who voted for her confirmation, the other two being Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).

In his statement, Graham also bemoaned that the “Harvard-Yale train to the Supreme Court continues to run unabated.”

Graham has voted to confirm multiple justices from the two Ivy League schools, including Yale-graduate Brett Kavanaugh and Harvard-graduate Neil Gorsuch. 

“I expect a respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Graham stated.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been looking to cool down the partisan debate around the Supreme Court nomination process, saying this week he didn’t think Biden’s plan to nominate a Black woman was inappropriate. 

“Ketanji Brown Jackson is an experienced federal judge with impressive academic and legal credentials,” Collins said after the nomination announcement. “I will conduct a thorough vetting of Judge Jackson’s nomination and look forward to her public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee and to meeting with her in my office.”