Sen. Tillis will not support Jackson’s confirmation in the Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (WNCN/AP) — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he will not support Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation in the Supreme Court because he feared it would “legislate off the bench.”

Tillis, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a statement as Maine Senator Susan Collins (R) said she would vote to confirm Jackson.

Collins’ endorsement on Wednesday gives Democrats at least a one-vote cushion in the 50-50 Senate and likely saves them from having to use Vice President Kamala Harris’ crucial vote to confirm President Joe Biden’s election.

Tillis said he has two criteria for reviewing a federal judge’s nomination.

One is their qualifications and the other is their obligation to abide by the original public meaning of the Constitution and federal law as it is written.

“There is no doubt that Justice Jackson is well qualified and her appointment as the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court is historic,” Tillis said.

But the senator expressed concern about Jackson under the Constitution.

“I’m also disappointed that she’s reluctant to publicly take a stand against a dark-money liberal trial that poses a fundamental threat to the independence of the federal judiciary, even though other judges like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer have done so.

“While I will not be supporting her confirmation, it is very likely that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson will be confirmed on the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, and I wish her and her wonderful family well in their continued public service to our great nation. ”

All 50 Democrats are expected to support her, though one notable moderate Democrat, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, has yet to say how she will vote.

In Jackson’s hearings, she was questioned by several Republican senators on sentencing decisions during her nine years as a federal judge, particularly on child pornography cases. The senators, several of whom are running for president, repeatedly asked the same questions to portray them as overly lenient towards sex offenders.

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell set the tone for the party last week when he said he could not and will not support it, citing the GOP’s concerns raised in the hearing on its conviction record and support by liberal interest groups have been expressed.