I welcome Judge Jackson.
And her family and I congratulate her on her nomination.
This important occasion, The Biden administration is waging a war
in the rule of law, the separation of powers in the constitution.
The lawlessness of the administration highlights the importance of
judges who faithfully apply the law.
To understand the ongoing power grab. Let's consider President Biden's
failed nominee to lead the Department of Justice. Uh 80 f the man
who nominated can only be described as the anti gun zealot.
Thanks to the courage of some of my Democratic colleagues.
That nominee was withdrawn.
But it's disturbing that the president was ever willing to nominate
someone who planned to shred the Second Amendment and ban virtually
every modern hunting rifle.
In America.
Just a few weeks ago, the Biden administration tried to twist the
authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a
relatively obscure agency designed to regulate things like Ladder
safety.
On construction sites.
And use it as a weapon to force virtually every American to choose
between getting vaccinated or losing their livelihood.
Thankfully, the Supreme Court struck down that unlawful power grab
or look at the southern border where Joe Biden and his secretary
of Homeland Security steadfastly refused to enforce our laws.
As a result, two million illegal aliens streamed across our borders
just last year.
And less than six months ago, the attorney general the United States,
himself, a former judge ordered that federal prosecutors, the FBI
and even the national security Division of the Department of Justice.
We mobilized against parents who dared question the entrenched teachers
unions are poisoning their Children with racist vitriol known as
critical race theory.
As justice Scalia was fond of saying every banana republic has a
bill of rights.
But it's nothing more than a parchment barrier without free and fair
elections without separated powers without the rule of law and without
an independent judiciary.
To uphold it all.
Perhaps recognizing what justice Scalia meant The progressive left
is not just threatening the rights of Americans, but our very system
of constitutional government.
Those on the left, including some of my colleagues here in the Senate,
including on this committee.
Want to pack the Supreme Court.
I would hope that anyone nominated to the court would have no problem
echoing the words of justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer.
Both of these liberal Lions have said that expanding the Supreme
Court to achieve favored legal and political outcomes is a dangerous
idea.
Into the court should have nine justices and no more.
But for some political outcomes on the court.
Or exactly their goal.
The Democratic leader, Senator Schumer stood on the steps of the
Supreme Court almost exactly two years ago and yelled at specific
justices quote.
You have unleashed the world win and you will pay the price and added
quote.
You won't know what hits you if you go forward these awful decisions,
unquote.
The chief justice rightly condemned these words again. I hope any
nominee to the court would be comfortable condemning these words
from Senator Schumer as well.
The Supreme Court is not the only constitutional limit on power that
the left would like to destroy.
The associate attorney general of the United States, has said that
she believes that every single American every single American
And every single institution in this country.
Or inherently racist, and the very concepts of the role of law and
equal justice for all are actually quote cohorts. That's what she
said Code words for some kind of twisted secret.
Racism.
These threats. The rule of law are not merely theoretical.
We are witnessing a breakdown.
Of society.
There are many Americans who no longer feel safe today. Parents are
scared.
To walk down the streets that used to be free from crime.
2020 anarchists, rioters and left wing Street.
Militias.
Raged across the country.
And murders increased at the fastest rate in history.
And in the first year of the Biden administration, violent crime
got even worse.
It's no coincidence that this violence violence came as localities
and states push to defund the police and reduce the punishment for
criminals.
Career criminals or committing violent crimes and going free.
Under the guise of a supposedly more equitable justice system.
And liberal judges who have more sympathy for the victimizers than
for the victims are a big part of the problem.
The Biden administration is committed to the soft on crime policies,
like ending cash bail to create a catch and release system for violent
criminals.
Progressive Soros Prosecutors, who are supported by the Biden administration
have nullified entire sections of law to destroy our criminal justice
system from within.
The consequences are obvious.
Skyrocketing violent crime, embolden gangs and drug overdoses, reaching
numbers never before saying in American history.
If Judge Jackson has confirmed her decisions will have a direct impact
on the safety of the American people.
So we're going to look at her past decisions and her statements.
Because the best predictor of future performance this past performance
That brings us to today.
Were asked to determine whether the president's nominee to the Supreme
Court is able and willing to meet these vital challenges.
I enjoyed meeting with Judge Jackson Judge Jackson last week in my
office.
We had a good conversation, and over the next few days, I'll have
many more questions.
Let's be clear about this. The confirmation hearing is not a test
of how well nominees can filibuster.
Or how many questions they can avoid answering.
It's true that there is a tradition of avoiding
Any stances on how one might rule in specific cases if confirmed,
and there's good reason for that.
But that's not a license to refuse to discuss one's views of the
law.
How one would go about conducting legal interpretation.
Or one's philosophy as a judge.
Judge Jackson isn't nominated to be a district judge or a circuit
judge this time around.
So it is not enough to say that she will approach
Things with integrity and fairness and faithfully apart apply precedents
set by higher courts.
Just as you wouldn't hire a teacher who refused 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.
Have one interprets the law. How one understands our constitution.
It's no secret that I voted against Judge Jackson's nomination to
the circuit court last year, but I want to give her the opportunity
to show why I should vote for her this time.
So I want to be clear about what would convince me to support any
Supreme Court nominated.
I'm looking for justice who will uphold the Constitution, not use
it to invent new, so called rights.
I'm looking for justice who understands the Constitution means what
it says and does not mean what it doesn't say.
Someone who understands that is not up to nine unaccountable, unelected
politicians in black robes decide some new evolving meaning of the
constitution based on public opinion, polling or views of the legal
elite.
I'm looking for a justice who realizes that a so called living constitution
really means that the Constitution is dead.
Instead, we should have an enduring constitution as justice, Scalia
contended.
I'm looking forward Justice who understand that there is a process
for updating constitution and that process is by amending the Constitution.
I will not support anyone who seeks to rewrite the constitution from
the bench rather than through our constitutional amendment process.
I'm looking for a justice who understands that nobody is above the
law and will not coddle criminals or put illegal aliens ahead of
American citizens.
Looking for a justice who will protect the right to life, innocent
infants instead of caving to the abortion lobby, creating whole new
swaths of law out of whole cloth.
I'm looking forward Justice who will make decisions based on the
law, not based on their personal experiences and preferences, not
on empathy, not on desired political outcomes.
But on the law and the constitution
If Judge Jackson has confirmed her job will be simple.
Leave the legislating to Congress.
And two elected, accountable officeholders in our states.
And our municipalities zealously protect the separation of powers
and don't overturn laws unless they violate the Constitution.
I look forward to these hearings. Thank you very much.