Day One of a Supreme Court confirmation hearing is usually a relatively staid affair: Each member of the Senate Judiciary Committee gives a lengthy opening statement, while the nominee sits silent, awaiting their turn. Most votes are already locked in. Today has been no different. KETANJI BROWN JACKSON has said little so far beyond a “thank you.” Perhaps the only potential swing vote on the committee heading into the hearings was Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.), who voted for Jackson’s circuit court nomination last year and generally believes in allowing a president to choose his judges. In his opening statement, Graham signaled today that trend is likely to come to an end. “This is a new game for the Supreme Court,” said a peeved Graham, citing in particular the “wholesale effort on the left” that he said helped tank J. MICHELLE CHILDS’ chance at the nomination. Had President JOE BIDEN tapped Graham’s fellow South Carolinian, he said, she would have gotten 60-plus votes. “You say, Judge Jackson, you don’t have any judicial philosophy per se,” Graham added. “Well, somebody on the left believes you do. Or they wouldn’t have spent the money they spent to have you in this chair. So we’re going to find out how that statement holds up over time.” Graham’s comments epitomized many committee Republicans’ concerns. More than three years on, they were openly angry about Justice BRETT KAVANAUGH’s confirmation process and the sexual assault allegations against him. They raised questions about liberal groups’ support for Jackson. And they previewed tough questions about her judicial philosophy and approach to the Constitution. Democrats gave a pre-buttal to many Republican criticisms — and talked up her experience, temperament and record. They also celebrated (as did many Republicans) the historic nature of her nomination. “You, Judge Jackson, are one of Mr. [ABRAHAM] LINCOLN’s living witnesses of an America that is unafraid of challenge, willing to risk change, confident of the basic goodness of our citizens,” Chair DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) declared to open the hearing. “And you are living witness to the fact that in America, all is possible.” Other notable bites from the hearing: — Durbin delivered a warning to other members on their lines of inquiry: “I also ask the members of this committee, as we begin this landmark confirmation process, to consider how history will judge each senator as we face our constitutional responsibility to advise and consent.” — Ranking member CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-Iowa) previewed the philosophical divides in judicial approach that underpin many GOP criticisms of liberal judges: “I’ll be looking to see whether Judge Jackson is committed to the Constitution as originally understood.” — Sen. PATRICK LEAHY (D-Vt.) sought to get ahead of what’s expected to be one of the GOP’s central lines of attack: “She’s not soft on crime,” he said, noting that she hails from a family that has a history of working in law enforcement. — Graham openly signaled to Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.) that he considered his controversial questions about her rulings in child pornography cases to be “fair game.” — Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) hit Jackson on her record, citing her rulings in Trump-era cases: “Your advocacy has bled over into your decision-making process as a judge.” — Sen. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.) accused Republicans of hypocrisy in their “dark money” lines of attack, saying anonymous money had laid the foundation for the Federalist Society and the entire GOP judicial infrastructure. “The unpleasant fact is that the present court is the court that dark money built,” he said. — Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) warned that court-packing advocacy from the left would delegitimize the court. “We must protect the court,” he said. Additional reading: — NYT’s Adam Liptak looks at how Jackson has “mastered the playbook” of this Senate rigmarole in three previous confirmation hearings: She’s become an expert in being polite, reframing questions, and showing off legal knowhow without expressing a whisper of opinion. — Ella Creamer has a fun listicle in POLITICO Magazine of 55 things to know about Jackson. Good Monday afternoon.
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