Friend -- this week the Senate is poised to make history. We will vote on the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court.
But if you watched any part of her historic confirmation hearings, you know some Senate Republicans are taking this as their personal publicity opportunity. Their off-color questions and insinuations aren't just distracting -- they're embarrassing. And now, Republicans are using their usual obstruction tactics to try to keep Judge Jackson off the court.
The Senate didn't even hold hearings for Supreme Court nominees until 1916. No one thought hearings were necessary until President Wilson nominated Louis Brandeis, a Jewish lawyer, to serve on the Supreme Court. Brandeis had plenty of opponents -- both in the Senate and in the press. They tried to brand him a "radical." Sound familiar?
Republicans are using the same playbook now to discredit and call into question the qualifications of the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court. They're doing everything they can to keep her off the court and smear Judge Jackson's name. It's despicable.