Statewide Iowa — Republican Senator Joni Ernst says President Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court is a highly qualified attorney, but Ernst says she cannot vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination.
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Ernst says as a member of the Senate, she will only vote for justices who pledge to be an originalist and interpret words in the Constitution based on their meaning at the time the document was adopted in 1788.
Audio PlayerErnst, who met with Jackson on March 30th, says the judge showed grace under pressure during last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. But Ernst says Jackson’s answer when asked to define a woman was troubling.
Audio PlayerErnst made her remarks during a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday. Iowa’s other U.S. Senator, Chuck Grassley, also plans to vote against Jackson’s nomination. Jackson is on a clear path to joining the nation’s highest court, as three other Republicans in the Senate have announced they’ll join with Democrats to confirm Jackson.