As Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson held private meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, she received a ringing endorsement from a prominent conservative, retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig.
Luttig, whose conservative credentials include stints working for Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Antonin Scalia, said in a statement to CNN that Brown is “eminently qualified to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.”
He said Republicans should vote for her confirmation and take pride in elevating the “first black female jurist to the Supreme Court.”
On Wednesday morning, Jackson met separately with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Schumer told reporters, “I said she was brilliant and beloved. I’d add a third B — belongs. She belongs on the court.”
CNN adds:
Asked about the timeline to confirm Jackson, Schumer reiterated that he wants this finished by April 8. Schumer also expressed hope that she could gain some Republican support as she meets with more senators.
“I am hopeful that a good number of Republicans will vote for her, given who she is, and when they meet her they will just be wowed, as I was,” he said. “She’s an amazing person.”
In the afternoon, Jackson will meet with Sens. Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley, the respective top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Judiciary, where her nomination will be considered.
During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden praised his nominee, calling her “one of our nation’s top legal minds.”
Biden added: “The former top litigator in private practice, a former federal public defender, from a family of public school educators and police officers. She is a consensus builder. Since she has been nominated she has received a broad range of support including the Fraternal Order of Police and former judges supported by Democrats and Republicans.”
The White House shared a biography of Jackson. You can read it here.