Cornyn Votes Against Supreme Court Nominee in Committee

Monday in the Senate Judiciary Committee, I voted against the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the upcoming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. 

As Senators, we work on our constituents’ behalf here in Washington, and every six years, they let us know whether we're doing a good job or not. When the Supreme Court blatantly engages in policymaking, it takes away the power of the people to decide for themselves and to hold their government accountable.

President Biden has made no bones about his intention to nominate a Supreme Court Justice who has an expansive view of unenumerated, invisible rights.

I did ask her about her judicial philosophy. She says she doesn't have one and hasn't thought much about it. That's simply not a credible response.

Judge Jackson has a marvelous legal education. She's a charming person. She has a vast practical experience - something I think is a real plus - having served as a public defender, a federal district judge, and a circuit court judge, and not just an academician. Someone of her impressive caliber surely has a judicial philosophy.

My concerns were further elevated as I reviewed Judge Jackson's record, and I saw examples of activism bleeding over in her decisions.

It's crucial that we use these proceedings to understand if a judge will truly stay in their lane or whether they will attempt to legislate from the bench and deliver what Justice Biden and his Democratic colleagues are unable to achieve through the legislative process.

A judge must call balls and strikes, and given what I've seen and her unwillingness to disclose her judicial philosophy and disavow an expansionist view of unenumerated rights, I have concerns that Judge Jackson will be pinch hitting for one team or the other. I will vote no.