Schumer wants to confirm Biden’s Supreme Court pick by April break

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants to confirm President Biden’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, before members of the upper chamber leave for a two-week break in April. 

“We want to do this fairly but expeditiously. … We would like to get this done and have the judge approved by the Senate before the Easter break,” Schumer told reporters after his meeting with Jackson. 

The Senate is scheduled to leave town on April 8. 

Schumer’s plan matches the 30 to 40 days the White House and top Democrats have eyed for the timeline between a formal announcement of the nominee to a confirmation vote.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has also pointed to the April break as a deadline for the nomination. Durbin, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, hasn’t said when he’ll hold a hearing on the nomination, though Schumer hinted the scheduling announcement is imminent.

In addition to Schumer, Jackson is meeting with Durbin, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday. 

Democrats are able to confirm Jackson, who would be the first Black female Supreme Court justice, on their own if all 50 of their members remain united.

But Schumer said Wednesday he was hopeful she would pick up GOP votes. 

“I think she deserves support from the other side of the aisle. And I am hopeful that a good number of Republicans will vote for her, given who she is,” Schumer said.