Even though he did not get his first choice for a new justice on the Supreme Court, House Majority Whip James Clyburn told CBS News' "Face The Nation" on Sunday that he wants to see a large bipartisan vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
"This is beyond politics," the South Carolina Democrat said.
"This is about the country, our pursuit of a more perfect union, and this is demonstrative of another step in that pursuit. And I would hope that all my Republican friends will look upon it that way. Let's have a debate. Let's talk to her about her rulings and about her philosophy. But in the final analysis, let's have a strong bipartisan support to demonstrate that both parties are still in pursuit of perfection.”
Clyburn had pressed for South Carolina native Judge Michelle Childs to be the nominee, one of the reasons being that she went to a state school rather than an elite institution, as Brown Jackson did - she attended Harvard.
Clyburn said that Biden choosing Brown Jackson means that "we will continue that tradition [of a nominee going to an elite university], and I am one, as you can see, that's not so much for tradition. I want to see us break as much new ground as possible."
But he emphasized that "we all have our personal preferences. We all have our reasonable biases… in the final analysis, I think this is a good choice. It was a choice that brings onto the court a background and some experiences that nobody else on the court will have [in that she was a public defender], and “that adds a new perspective to the court."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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