Towards the end of Thursday Inside politics On CNN, host John King and chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju lamented that Republicans were not lining up to vote for Ketanji Brown Jackson in his “historic nomination” to the Supreme Court.
King Ball got Rolling, suggesting that if a handful of Republicans were willing to vote for him in the DC Circuit, they should be willing to vote for him in the Supreme Court: Open question. “
Throwing the conversation at Raju, Raja was surprised and said, “Manu, Democrats say it’s great, he’s great, he’s smart, but what about the Republicans?”
Raju called the answer somewhat irrelevant because Jackson would almost certainly get all 50 Democrats, but still argued:
… but will even the three Republicans who voted for him on the DC circuit be on board? That is still uncertain. One of them, Susan Collins, hinted that she was probably going to support Ketanji Brown Jackson, while the other, Lindsay Graham, seemed to be moving in the opposite direction. And the third one, Lisa Murkowski, is indecisive. He is also up for re-election in a year where a Trump-backed rival is following him on a judicial issue.
Using Murkowski’s indecisiveness as a backdrop, Raju lamented, “It really means that despite being a historic nominee, the first black woman to serve on the court, if confirmed, seems unlikely to get a handful of Republican votes at this time.” How biased the fight has become. ”
After decades of Democrat politicking court nominees to Robert Bork, CNN waited for a Democratic recruiter to lament the general biased nature of the process.
This segment was sponsored by Liberty Mutual.
Here is a transcript for the March 10 show:
CNN Inside politics with John King
3/10/2022
12:57 PM ET
John King: President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown, is touring Jackson Capitol Hill, meeting with key senators. Democrats influenced but won the support of Republicans who in the past voted to ensure him fewer jobs, still an open question. Let’s go to our chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju. Manu, Democrats say it’s great, he’s great, he’s smart, but what about Republicans?
Manu Raju: They are not really there yet. How many Republicans will vote for him in the end is really uncertain. They don’t, he doesn’t need Republicans to be sure. He must have about 50 Democrats on board, but will even the three Republicans who voted to confirm him on the DC circuit be on board? That is still uncertain. One of them, Susan Collins, hinted that she was probably going to support Ketanji Brown Jackson, while the other, Lindsay Graham, seemed to be moving in the opposite direction. And the third one, Lisa Murkowski, is indecisive. He is also up for re-election in a year where a Trump-backed rival is following him on a judicial issue. He supported, Lisa Murkowski, the nominee of 37 people from Joe Biden’s lower court, but he told me he was not there yet.
He said that although he had previously voted for the DC Circuit, the country’s second most important court, he said it was a complete quote, “a different game.” And she says she wanted to see the hearing, the assessment take place here, but John, it really underscores that although this is a historic nomination, the first black woman to be confirmed to serve on the court, with a handful of more Republican votes, seems unlikely at the moment. How biased the fight in the Supreme Court has become.