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On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee convened to deliver final remarks before voting on whether to advance to the Senate floor Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Though Republican committee members near-unanimously acknowledged Judge Jackson's qualifications and expressed admiration for her demeanor during the hearings, they all expressed their intentions to vote against bringing her nomination to the floor.
Among them was Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina—whose bizarre questions about Jackson's religion, as well as his incessant airing of grievances regarding how Trump-era Supreme Court nominees were treated, went viral over the course of the hearings.
In announcing his vote, Graham acknowledged that if Republicans were in charge of the Senate, Judge Jackson never would've received a hearing.
Watch below.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “If we were in charge, [Judge Jackson] would not have been before this committee.” pic.twitter.com/3C4gvvJaOT
— The Recount (@therecount) April 4, 2022
Graham said:
"If [Republicans] get back the Senate and we're in charge of this body and there's judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side, but if we're in charge, she would not have been before this committee. You'd have had somebody more moderate than this."
Given the records of past GOP-controlled Senates regarding a Democratic president's Supreme Court nominations, Graham is probably right.
Former President Barack Obama famously appointed Judge Merrick Garland (who now serves as Attorney General) to the Supreme Court after the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016. But the Judiciary Committee and the rest of the Republican-majority Senate refused to considerrObama's nomination. They didn't even convene the committee to hear Garland's testimony. That Supreme Court seat was left open for a year, until former President Donald Trump's administration.
This was on the minds of social media users listening to Graham's diatribe.
What, like when Moscow Mitch wouldn’t allow Merrick Garland to have a hearing but then rammed through Amy Coney Barrett? Like that? When Republicans are in charge, the American people lose in favor of the radical right fascism. https://t.co/gUbEURjpSV
— Sarah Fredriksson (@SarahFredrikss1) April 4, 2022
Sure Lindsey, like say Merrick Garland? https://t.co/x0UHg2UfMR
— Diva Liscious Eleven (@divaliscious11) April 4, 2022
Well of course, we’ve seen that in practice. Merrick Garland was proof of that and yet republicans want to scream about the way Kavanaugh & Coney Barrett were treated. Gimme a fricking break! https://t.co/x7UsnrI27s
— Mimi (@CuzMimiSaysSo) April 4, 2022
Oh, nothing, just @LindseyGrahamSC being racist right out here in the open, nothing new. And making threats to continue the same bullsh*t that he and @LeaderMcConnell undertook with Merrick Garland and Amy Comey Barrett. #UnAmerican https://t.co/RBFMvevRmR
— Not The One (@FTWTMPS) April 4, 2022
Others pointed out that Graham has supported Judge Jackson multiple times in the past when she was confirmed by the Senate for lower court positions.
Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC twice voted to confirm Jackson to the federal bench—first to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2013, and then again to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals less than a year ago. https://t.co/BYNLonTs5S
— Majority Report (@majorityfm) April 4, 2022
"If we were in charge, we would have put another handmaiden on the bench!"
She was confirmed with bipartisan support TWICE.
Lindsey Graham is a buffoon. https://t.co/1DRFLYem2s
— ⚓️Imani Two-Kitchens Gandy⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) April 4, 2022
Sen. Lindsey Graham voted to confirm Judge Jackson just last year. https://t.co/e5SZKshEci
— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) April 4, 2022
Others said a Republican Senate would never consider a Democratic president's nomination again.
Graham gives away the game: Republicans will under no circumstances consider a Supreme Court Justice nominated by a Democratic president
Republicans have packed and stolen the Court for conservatives https://t.co/AQoen6zL3z
— Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) April 4, 2022
*Insane* that mainstream media *Chose* to cover recent hearings for Judge Jackson as normal, good-faith process working, rather than a made-for-TV-soundbite sham for "democracy" where a Republican senate will never again agree to any Democratic Supreme Court nominee. https://t.co/wB2uHidyRe
— David Rothschild 🇺🇦 (@DavMicRot) April 4, 2022
The committee is currently in recess after flight issues delayed the arrival of Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California. The vote will be held when he arrives later this afternoon.