Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked at 11-11 over Supreme Court Nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. This sets up a Senate floor vote which will reveal how much GOP support she really gets.
Jackson will not be able to get a positive recommendation to her nomination for the floor because of the 11-11 party line tie in the committee. However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) can call a vote on the floor, most likely Monday, to approve a motion to “discharge Jackson” from the Judiciary Committee.
This would allow the chamber to move through the cloture process during the week. It also means that a final confirmation vote will likely be held on Thursday or Friday, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
It also means Sens. It also means Sens. Their support would be a significant win for the White House which seeks bipartisan backing for Jackson.
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) is the only Republican to have announced that she will vote for Jackson. Fox News Digital Monday morning asked for comment from Murkowski and Romney, but they did not respond immediately.
Because of a medical emergency, the flight carrying Senator Alex Padilla, D.Calif., from Los Angeles, to Washington, D.C., was forced to return to the airport. This delayed the committee vote for several hours.
The 50-50 Senate splits committees evenly, so matters that don’t receive bipartisan support won’t be able to go directly to the floor. The power-sharing agreement between Schumer (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) allows for a simple majority vote on a motion to discharge a committee that is deadlocked. This stops the minority from causing complete gridlock by voting against committee matters.
Schumer will move for the discharge of Jackson’s nomination. This will result in up to four hours worth of debate, equally divided between the majority of the Senate and the minority. The Senate will place Jackson’s nomination on its “executive calendar”, where it can be taken up by the next calendar day if a simple majority, which is likely.
Tillis stated that he wasn’t satisfied with Jackson’s judicial philosophy and her refusal to oppose the court-packing. Graham pointed out Jackson’s history with child pornography offenders receiving light sentences and her “lackluster judicial philosophy”. Both men said that they respected Jackson’s character and she was strong in the legal community.
Monday’s official backing of Jackson was Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). All Democrats are expected support the nominee. However, the nomination will likely pose a major political problem for Democrats running for reelection like Kelly.
