Senator Chris Coons praises Biden's "outstanding" Supreme Court pick, hopes for confirmation by Easter
Senator Chris Coons praised President Biden's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, as "outstanding" and said he hopes she is confirmed with bipartisan support by Easter.
The Democratic lawmaker from Delaware, who sits on the Senate's judiciary committee, said senators would begin meeting with Jackson and reading into her background this week.
"My hope is that we will have a confirmation process that is fair, that is swift, that is transparent, and that will see her seated on the Supreme Court later this spring," he said Monday on "CBS Mornings."
If all goes as planned, he said, a vote would be held before the Easter holiday, which falls on April 17 this year.
Jackson, 51, was selected just last year to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. If confirmed, she would become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, replacing retiring Justice Stephen Breyer.
Her recent confirmation process for the D.C. appeals court may help speed things up, Coons said.
"We've recently had a chance to review her record and she hasn't written many decisions since she was confirmed. It was so recent," he said, adding that former President Donald Trump's third Supreme Court nominee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, was "raced through in a matter of just a few weeks by the Republicans."
"Those two in combination suggest this might be a rather swift confirmation process," Coons said.
Though some Republican lawmakers described Jackson's nomination as a victory for "radical" elements of the Democratic Party, Coons said he would "certainly hope" for some bipartisan support.
"She got three Republican votes when confirmed for the D.C. Circuit," he said. "She hasn't changed in the last few months. She has outstanding credentials, a remarkable background, and she will make historic contributions to our Supreme Court."