Taking to the U.S. Senate floor on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said this week he will vote against President Joe Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Biden nominated Jackson in February to replace the retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Scott weighed in on why he would vote against Jackson.
“During my eight years as governor, I made more than 400 judicial appointments to the state courts. For each, I evaluated the candidates by the same standard: Did they understand that they were being appointed to the judiciary, not the legislature, and would they respect that a judge’s role is to apply the law as it was written, not as they may want it to be. I met with Judge Jackson, and while we had a nice conversation, I cannot vote to confirm someone who I believe will be an activist judge and a rubber stamp for Joe Biden’s radical agenda. Judge Jackson’s record of weak sentencing is also gravely concerning, and disqualifying for a seat on the highest court in the land. During her time on the bench, Judge Jackson imposed sentences that were 47 percent shorter than the national average in cases of child pornography distribution, and 57 percent shorter than the national average in cases of child pornography possession. She has even apologized to the sex offenders from the bench when issuing such sentences. The American people deserve justices that will stand up for the rule of law, and Judge Jackson has sadly shown she will not,” Scott said.
Earlier in the week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he will vote against Jackson.
With the Democrats controlling the chamber, Jackson is expected to win confirmation when her nomination reaches the floor in the coming days. Three Republicans–U.S. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah–have announced they will vote for her.
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.