Jackson also clerked for Breyer when he issued an opinion in Stenberg v. Carhart, which struck down a Nebraska law banning “partial-birth” abortion, other Catholic and pro-life leaders have warned.
For his part, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas emphasized that, among other things, “I’m looking for a justice who will protect the right to life of innocent infants instead of caving to the abortion lobby, creating whole new swaths of law out of whole cloth.”
Following the hearings, the Senate committee will hold a vote that, if approved, will send the Jacksn’s nomination to the larger Senate for consideration. Democrats want to finish the confirmation process before April 11, when Easter recess begins.
The chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, and ranking member Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa opened the hearings on Monday.
“There may be some who claim, without a shred of evidence, that you’ll be a rubber stamp for this president,” Durbin stressed. “For these would-be critics, I have four words: Look at the record.”
He pointed to her experience, and the historic nature of her nomination.
Biden elevated 51-year-old Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2021. But Jackson first became a federal judge in 2013, serving the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia as a President Barack Obama appointee.
Jackson also received her undergraduate and law degrees from Harvard, before working as a federal public defender. Her resume includes serving as vice chair and commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which establishes sentencing policies and practices for federal courts and advises both Congress and the executive branch.
If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to sit on the bench of the nation’s highest court. Biden first announced that he would nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court on the campaign trail.
As at her nomination ceremony, Jackson publicly acknowledged her own faith by thanking God during the first day of her hearings.
“It is faith that sustains me at this moment,” she said.
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Jackson previously served on the inaugural advisory board for a Christian school in Rockville, Maryland, from 2010-2011. The school backed Christian beliefs on marriage, gender, and human life. During her confirmation hearings last year, she commented on her time at Montrose Christian School, which she described as a now-defunct K-12 private school.
“I was aware that Montrose Christian School was affiliated with Montrose Baptist Church,” she said. “I was not aware that the school had a public website or that any statement of beliefs was posted on the school’s website at the time of my service.”
When asked by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri about the First Amendment, Jackson responded at the time, “I do believe in religious liberty,” calling it a “foundational tenet of our entire government.”
On Monday, she promised senators a commitment to transparency, adherence to precedent, and a neutral posture.
“If I am confirmed, I commit to you that I will work productively to support and defend the Constitution and this grand experiment of American democracy,” she concluded, adding later that “I hope that you will see how much I love our country, and the constitution, and the rights that make us free.”
Former Washington, D. C., correspondent Katie Yoder covered pro-life issues, the U.S. Catholic bishops, public policy, and Congress for Catholic News Agency. She previously worked for Townhall.com, National Review, and the Media Research Center.