At the end of last week, President Joe Biden announced his plans to nominate U.S. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace the retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court and the top two candidates in Florida’s U.S. Senate race weighed in on it.
While he did not come out to oppose the nomination, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., offered his criteria for Supreme Court nominees.
“President Biden wrongly believes the Supreme Court should act as a legislative branch, actively overriding the will of the people and the Congress,” Rubio said. “My decision will be based on whether Judge Jackson has a demonstrated commitment to original intent, judicial restraint, and the understanding that the Supreme Court is a ‘trier of law’ appellate court and not a ‘trier of fact’ trial court. I will not support any nominee that believes it is appropriate for judges to craft new policies and create rights instead of interpreting and defending the Constitution as written.”
U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., the favorite for the Democratic nomination to challenge Rubio in November, expressed her support for the nominee.
“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has a spectacular record, impeccable credentials, and her perspective as a fellow Floridian will be a breath of fresh air on the Court. She is exceptionally qualified to serve on the Supreme Court.” Demings said. “In the coming years, the Supreme Court is likely to hear cases that may determine the long-term direction of American life, and the safety and constitutional rights of every American. Judge Jackson has demonstrated throughout her career that she will be impartial, meticulous, and will put the law and Constitution first in every case.
“In less partisan times she is the kind of nominee who might have been confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. I expect every member of the Senate to give Judge Jackson full and fair consideration. This remarkable Floridian should be confirmed without delay,” Demings added.
Brown Jackson currently serves as a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Before that, she served as a district judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for eight years and clerked for three Supreme Court justices including Breyer.
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