Republican leaders are refusing to commit to allowing a vote on Biden's pick for a potential vacancy if they win control of the Senate this fall.
But behind the joy and excitement of presenting the first black woman in court was a more difficult question: Could she be Biden's first justice — and his last?
As November's election draws to a close, Senate Republicans are signaling a revival of the hardball strategy by refusing a full-scale blockade against a Biden candidate for the remainder of his four-year term if a vacancy arises. are.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters this week, "I'm not going to go ahead with any predictions about what our strategy might be should we become a majority." A vote on the Biden candidate in 2023.
McConnell said he can say "with great certainty" that Biden, who "ran as a moderate" in 2020, will have to spend the next two years as "a moderate".
It is unclear whether Biden will have another vacancy to fill. The next oldest liberal justice is Sonia Sotomayor, 67. The oldest of the six Conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, is 73. But if Biden gets that opportunity, it may all hinge on which party controls the Senate, making bets for the 2022 midterm elections.
In 2016, McConnell blocked a vote on then-President Barack Obama's candidate to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, a move that ended a long-standing tradition that nominees receive one vote. and lay the groundwork for the shift to the right side of the court. Last year, McConnell declined to say whether he would be allowed to vote on "normal mainstream liberals" elected by Biden in 2023 if he is in charge.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klein responded Thursday night on MSNBC: "It is not our plan to let Mitch McConnell make this decision in 2023. It is our plan to put Sen. Schumer in charge of decision-making in 2023." I firmly believe that if there is a vacancy in the Supreme Court, Schumer, the leader of the majority, will ensure that that person has a speedy and fair trial."
At the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on Jackson this week, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, said Jackson would not have appeared before the panel if the Republicans were in charge.
For Biden, it was a happy moment as his team worked with the Senate to hold all 50 Democrats together and break up three Republican senators, giving him 53 votes in an equally divided chamber — the last two Republican candidates. received by a large majority. He celebrated this moment with Jackson.
Historic moment for our courts and for our country. Congratulations, Judge Jackson. pic.twitter.com/eLSfs1QoHB
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 7, 2022
A White House official said Biden plans to host an event on Friday "to commemorate the confirmation of Judge Jackson."
Moments after the historic Senate vote on Thursday, The Verve's 1997 hit song "Bitter Sweet Symphony" could be heard loudly playing on a cellphone outside the Senate chamber.
This captured the mixed feelings of liberals about the time.
Despite Jackson's rise, the court remains the most conservative in nearly a century, retaining a majority of 6 to 3 Republican appointees expected to reshape American life by curtailing abortion rights and expanding gun rights. This period, among other consequential decisions before the Court.
"It's a legitimately happy moment for so many," said Brian Fallon, a former Senate leadership aide and co-founder of progressive advocacy group Demand Justice. "But there will be a cold shower of water in June - before he even takes the oath. It's going to be clear what we're still up against. ... The top idea needs to do something that will blunt the unabashed right-wing sluggard." Let it be, on which the court is taking the country."
"It's extremely important to hold the Senate," he said, advising Democrats to make the court a "political villain" when running for office. "Democrats in general need to be more comfortable with the idea of applying the court as a foil during our campaigns and running against the court."
The balance of the court was a source of comfort for Republican leaders.
“The fact that there is a conservative majority – or at least a majority that shares our judicial philosophy – is something that, moreover, is reassuring,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-SD, said. told NBC News.
Thune, the No. 2 Republican who is running for re-election in a safe red state, indicated that if his party were to regain control, Biden would find it difficult to confirm the Supreme Court nominee, which he With net you can get the advantage of one seat.
"We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, the chances of getting a majority are 50-50," Thun said. "It's going to be tough, because we're in this kind of environment. ... We're in a phase where, especially if you have divided the government, they will be controversial and hard-fought."