Dear John,

It has been a WEEK (and it’s only Thursday 😩). The confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have ended—but if you’ve been watching these hearings like us, you’ll probably agree it felt more like a month than just three days.

And based on the questioning she faced, I’d have to guess Judge Jackson might feel the same way. While some senators asked thoughtful questions about the Judge’s record, others seemed more concerned with generating sound bites than taking their jobs seriously.

As predicted, there were plenty of questions fraught with racial and gender bias. But through even the most ridiculous points, Judge Jackson showed exactly why she was nominated in the first place. She is thoughtful, reasoned, and an expert at what she does. She answered every single question with sincerity, no matter how ridiculous it was. This is a nominee with more judicial experience than four justices had combined when they were nominated. There’s no question that she belongs in that Supreme Court seat.

As her questioning came to a close on Wednesday evening, Judge Jackson recounted her time as a freshman at Harvard. At times, she questioned whether she truly belonged there. When asked what she would tell young people who want to follow in her footsteps, she said “I would tell them to persevere.” Our President, Fatima Goss Graves, said it best:

Thank you for sticking with us, and with Judge Jackson, this week. Now, it’s time to put the pressure on senators to confirm her without obstruction and without delay.

Sincerely,

Arvia Walker
she/her/hers
Director of Campaigns
National Women's Law Center