WATCH: Sen. Cotton’s opening statement in Jackson Supreme Court confirmation hearings

Sen. Tom Cotton, R- Ark., gave opening remarks March 21 as the Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off its Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Cotton said he would look for Jackson to define her legal philosophy, even if she wouldn't go so far as to say how she would decide particular cases.
“Judge Jackson isn’t nominated to be a district judge or a circuit judge this time around, so it’s not enough to say that she will approach things with integrity and fairness and faithfully apply precedents set by higher courts,” Cotton said.
“Just as you wouldn’t hire a teacher who refuses to say anything about their teaching philosophy other than that they would ‘look at the curriculum and appropriately teach the students,’ it’s not enough to say only that one would look at the facts and arguments in the case and fairly apply the law. That wouldn’t tell us anything about how one plans to do the job, how one interprets the law, how one understands the Constitution," he added.
Jackson was nominated by President Joe Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman on the high court.

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