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By Aaron McDade
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Confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee to fill the seat of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, will begin March 21 with opening statements, followed by two days of questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee and one day of testimony from outside witnesses.
Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin announced the meetings Wednesday afternoon as Jackson began meeting several Senators ahead of the hearings.
If the meetings proceed as planned and she advances through the Judiciary Committee, Jackson could see a vote in the full Senate next month and be sworn in prior to Breyer's retirement at the end of the Supreme Court's current session this summer. If she is confirmed, she would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court in American history.
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"As I have said from the time that Justice Breyer announced his retirement, the Committee will undertake a fair and timely process to consider Judge Jackson's nomination," Durbin wrote in the letter to other Judiciary Committee members. "I look forward to Judge Jackson's appearance before the Committee and to respectful and dignified hearings."
Jackson reportedly met with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Senator Mitch McConnell on Wednesday morning and was set to meet with Durbin and Senator Chuck Grassley, the Judiciary Committee's top Republican, in the afternoon, according to the Associated Press.
Schumer spoke highly of Jackson to reporters following their meeting and compared her to retiring Justice Breyer, whom Jackson was once a clerk for, saying she is "even-handed and tries to look at both sides," CNN reported.
Schumer said they discussed legal philosophies, but mostly he wanted to know more about who Jackson was, and they talked about her life and family, the AP reported.
"You can see it when you meet her that she has real empathy," Schumer said. "I think it's very important in a judge, because you're having two sides clashing over whatever the issue is, to be able to empathize and walk in the other person's shoes."
He said that he hoped her record and support from a wide range of groups including police unions, a point also mentioned by Biden in Tuesday's State of the Union, would lead to Senate Republicans supporting her nomination.
During Tuesday's address, Biden also called Jackson "one of our nation's top legal minds, who will continue Justice Breyer's legacy of excellence."
Jackson was confirmed to her current position on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., last year, after eight years working on the district court. She received votes in her favor for that nomination from moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, as well as three Republicans: Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski.
Manchin and Sinema have both said they plan to meet with Jackson before deciding whether to support her nomination, and Graham told Fox News around the time of her announcement that her nomination was a victory for the "radical left," despite his support of her nomination to the appeals court last year.
If the Senate ends in a 50-50 tie, Vice President Kamala Harris could break the tie and confirm Jackson's nomination.
Update 3/2/22 2:30 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information and context.
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