Key GOP senator warns against ‘arbitrary timeline’ for court nominee

Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, warned Democrats on Monday against trying to “rush” President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. 

“Vetting a nominee for a lifetime appointment to the high court is serious business. The American people rightly expect a full and thorough vetting process. We should not sacrifice the integrity of our constitutional advice and consent responsibility to meet an arbitrary timeline,” Grassley said in a statement. 

“The Court’s next term doesn’t begin until October, so there’s absolutely no need to rush,” he added.

Grassley’s office said that on average there have been 53 days before a hearing for Supreme Court nominees with previous government experience. 

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced last week that the hearing for Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, where she would be the first Black female justice, would begin on March 21 and last four days. 

Democrats have bristled over GOP grumbling about the time frame, noting that Republicans confirmed Justice Amy Coney Barrett with 30 days between her nomination and a floor vote. 

The timeline laid out by Durbin would give 24 days between nomination and the hearing, more than the amount of time Republicans allowed between nomination and hearing for Barrett.

Democrats want to confirm Jackson by the time they leave for the two-week April recess on April 8. Democrats are expected to use more time than the 30 days Republicans used for Barrett.