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Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Pat Toomey to vote against Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson

He expressed concerns about Jackson’s record and what he called her lack of a judicial philosophy.

  • By WLVR Staff
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, March 22, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

 Carolyn Kaster / AP Photo

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, March 22, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says he will vote against the confirmation of nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Toomey, R-Pa., expressed concerns about Jackson’s record and what he called her lack of a judicial philosophy.

The senator from the Lehigh Valley announced his decision against confirming Jackson – the first Black woman nominated to the nation’s highest court – in a statement Sunday night.

Toomey called Jackson’s sentencing of child pornography defendants below sentencing guidelines as “baffling.”

On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to take the first steps toward confirming President Biden’s nominee.

Here is the full statement released by Toomey:

“While Judge Jackson undoubtedly has an impressive educational and professional background, her inability to define her own judicial philosophy makes it difficult to understand how she might approach the most important cases facing the nation today, tomorrow, and far into the future. Rather than confine herself to one philosophy, Judge Jackson has only offered a ‘methodology’ that is ultimately unhelpful for determining what her foundation is for interpreting statutory and Constitutional text.

“Judge Jackson’s history of judicial activism is also highly concerning, and has led to at least two unanimous decisions by separate panels of the D.C. Circuit overturning her rulings for reaching beyond the scope of her authority.

“In addition, the fact Judge Jackson has consistently imposed sentences for offenses related to child pornography not only far below those recommended under the Sentencing Guidelines, but also below the recommendations of prosecutors and the sentences imposed by some of her peers on the federal judiciary, is baffling to me.

“Due to Judge Jackson’s admitted lack of judicial philosophy, her concerning judicial record, and the likelihood she will continue to reach beyond the limited role of the judiciary, I cannot support her appointment to the Court.”

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