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  • 2022-03-25 (xsd:date)
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  • Did McConnell Say 'No Question' Jackson Qualified, Then Say He Won't Support Appointment? (en)
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  • It's true that U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said there was no question U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson was qualified for the role, then later said he will not support her appointment. This claim involving McConnell and Jackson was included in a video that was posted to both Twitter and TikTok on March 25, 2022: McConnell made the no question remark about Jackson on March 2 during an interview on The Guy Benson Show on Fox News Radio. When asked by Benson if Jackson is qualified for the U.S. Supreme Court, McConnell answered: Yes, yes. No question about that. In the same interview, McConnell mentioned his concern over the issue of court-packing prior to his no question remark. During her hearing on March 22, Jackson was again asked about court-packing. ABC News tweeted the following video, in which she said, in part, judges should not be speaking to political issues. Rutgers Today published a full article about court-packing, saying that it was something that would be done for partisan reasons. People often use 'court packing' to describe changes to the size of the Supreme Court, but it's better understood as any effort to manipulate the Court's membership for partisan ends, Rutgers Today published. A political party that's engaged in court packing will usually violate norms that govern who is appointed (e.g., only appoint jurists who respect precedent) and how the appointment process works (e.g., no appointments during a presidential election). The issue of court-packing became a hot topic during the 2020 nomination and confirmation of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. On March 24, after the completion of Jackson's hearing, McConnell said: I cannot and will not support Judge Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. McConnell stated several reasons why he would not support Jackson. First, Judge Jackson refuses to reject the fringe position that Democrats should try to pack the Supreme Court, he said. This was the same issue he mentioned prior to his no question remarks about Jackson's qualifications back on March 2. The Senate minority leader's second point was about activist judges. McConnell's third reason why he decided not to support her involved concerns around how he viewed Jackson's rhetoric during her previous time as a judge. He specifically mentioned giving certain terrible kinds of criminals light sentences that were beneath the sentencing guidelines and beneath the prosecutors' requests. His full remarks appeared on the official U.S. Senate website. In sum, yes, McConnell originally did tell a radio host that there was no question that Jackson was qualified for the U.S. Supreme Court. It was also true that he later said he cannot and will not support her appointment. In both instances, he specifically referenced concerns over court-packing. (en)
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