This afternoon, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said they’ll support the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, forging a clear path to Jackson’s confirmation and her ascent to history as the first Black woman to sit on the court. The two Republicans announced their decisions moments after the Judiciary Committee voted to advance Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate. Jackson now has the support of at least three Republicans in the full Senate vote — Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said last week that she would vote to confirm her.
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Take a look: Post count shows enough votes for Jackson confirmation
The full breakdown of the votes can be found here.
This just in: Murkowski and Romney are yes votes on Jackson
Two more Republican senators, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said they will vote in support of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination, meaning the judge will receive the support of at least three Republicans in the full Senate vote.
Murkowski, in a statement, said her support rests on “Jackson’s qualifications, which no one questions.” She noted, however, that her decision rests on her “rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year.”
“The support she has received from law enforcement agencies around the country is significant and demonstrates the judge is one who brings balance to her decisions,” Murkowski added, addressing a criticism that some of her Republican colleagues have tried to drive against Jackson — that she’s “easy” on crime.
In his statement, Romney said that while he doesn’t expect to “agree with every decision” Jackson makes on the court, he believes she “more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity.”
Romney, Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine are the GOP’s only public supporters of Jackson’s nomination. The three moderates were seen as the most likely to break with their party in support of Jackson. Whether any other Republicans will join them remains to be seen.
Noted: Biden’s granddaughter to hold wedding reception at White House
Naomi Biden, President Biden’s eldest granddaughter, will hold her wedding reception at the White House on Nov. 19, a White House aide confirmed to The Post’s Amy B Wang:
Michael LaRosa, a spokesman for Jill Biden, said the engaged couple and their parents are “still in the planning stages” and will announce further details in the coming months.“Consistent with other private events hosted by the First Family and following the traditions of previous White House wedding festivities in prior Administrations, the Biden family will be paying for the wedding activities that occur at the White House,” LaRosa said in a statement.
Naomi Biden, 28, announced her engagement to Peter Neal, 24, in September. She’s a lawyer, and the daughter of President Biden’s son Hunter Biden. She tweeted her thanks to her grandparents as she confirmed news of the celebration.
Peter and I are endlessly grateful to my Nana and Pop for the opportunity to celebrate our wedding at the White House. We can’t wait to make our commitment to one another official and for what lies ahead.
— Naomi Biden (@NaomiBiden) April 4, 2022
Per Amy, there have been four instances when the wedding took place elsewhere but the reception was hosted at the White House. Most recently, Jenna Bush Hager, one of President George W. Bush’s daughters, held her wedding in Crawford, Tex., in May 2008 and celebrated with a White House reception the next month.
Read more from Amy here.
Lena H. Sun: A relative lull in covid brings agency action — Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky made clear she wanted to make changes when she began her tenure. She may be trying to take advantage of this moment in the pandemic — a relative lull — to get a review underway to address many of the criticisms. In the past, other directors, such as Tom Frieden, who helmed CDC from 2009 to 2017, have made structural changes as well. It remains to be seen how big or deep this revamp will be considering two of the three senior officials she is tasking to provide feedback are longtime veterans of the agency.
This just in: CDC will revamp after criticism for pandemic response
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be revamped, Director Rochelle Walensky announced Monday.
The decision follows blistering criticism of the agency for its handling of the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. A review and redesign of the Atlanta-based agency will be led by a senior federal health official who is not affiliated with the CDC.
“It is time to step back and strategically position CDC to support the future of public health,” Walensky said in an agencywide email sent shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, according to The Washington Post’s Lena H. Sun, who received a copy of the email.
The CDC has been under fire for its pandemic response for nearly two years. Lena writes:
A consistent criticism has been the agency’s failure to be agile, especially with analysis and release of real-time data.Walensky seemed to acknowledge those criticisms in brief public remarks about the reasons for the reorganization.“Never in its 75-year history has CDC had to make decisions so quickly, based on often limited, real-time, and evolving science,” she said in a statement. ” … As we’ve challenged our state and local partners, we know that now is the time for CDC to integrate the lessons learned into a strategy for the future.”
Read more about Walensky’s announcement here.
This just in: Senate panel deadlocks on vote, but Jackson still on path to confirmation
Jackson on Monday took a key step toward becoming the Supreme Court’s 116th justice — and its first Black woman — after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on her nomination.
Despite a tie vote from the panel, her nomination can still be advanced to the Senate floor under Senate rules.
Ahead of the vote, the committee spent more than three hours debating the nomination on Monday. Now that the vote has tied, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) will put a measure on the Senate floor discharging Jackson’s nomination from the committee, a vote that is expected Monday night, writes our colleague Mike DeBonis.
Jackson’s final confirmation vote on the Senate floor could happen Thursday or Friday.
Read more from Mike here.
Noted: Cruz’s former mentor fact-checks him during Jackson hearing
Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Tex.) former mentor, Judge J. Michael Luttig, fact-checked him live as Cruz went on a tirade against Jackson during Monday’s hearing.
“I believe she will prove to be the most extreme and the furthest-left justice ever to serve on the Supreme Court,” Cruz said, without citing evidence.
Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, tweeted a clip of Cruz’s words, saying there’s “nothing” in Jackson’s “record, experience, or temperament” that supports them.
Cruz worked for Luttig as a federal appeals court clerk. The judge replied to Klain, saying he “would not hesitate to retract my endorsement of Judge Jackson for the Supreme Court if there were anything at all to Senator Cruz’s statement, but there is not.”
I would not hesitate to retract my endorsement of Judge Jackson for the Supreme Court if there were anything at all to Senator Cruz’s statement, but there is not. In fact, quite the opposite is the case.
— @judgeluttig (@judgeluttig) April 4, 2022
Cruz used to be Luttig’s protege — a 2016 New York Times profile noted that the senator has described Luttig as being “like a father” to him. Luttig broke with Cruz when President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol under the false notion that the presidency had been stolen from him.
In an op-ed for the New York Times, Luttig warned that Trump and his allies would continue disputing the results of the 2020 election. He targeted Cruz directly, saying he was trying to “capitalize on those ambiguities in the law to do Mr. Trump’s bidding.”
Matt Viser: Sullivan says attacks in Ukraine aren’t yet ‘genocide’ — Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, has become a regular guest in the White House briefing room in recent weeks, offering the Biden administration’s latest thinking on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.On Monday, he came again, apologizing at the start, saying he had a lot to say: “My remarks are not going to be brief.” The latest attacks were “tragic,” he said, and “shocking.” But he said they were, unfortunately, not altogether surprising and, he added, didn’t yet reach the level of genocide.He said there would be additional sanctions announced this week. He reiterated unity among the West. And he said the latest intelligence shows that Russia is shifting its goals but not letting go of its aim to dominate Ukraine.“The next stage of this conflict may very well be protracted,” he said, a period that he estimated could be months or longer. “We should be under no illusions that Russia will adjust its tactics, which have included and will likely continue to include wanton and brazen attacks on civilian targets.”
On our radar: Nunes seat first up in spring special elections
On Tuesday, Californians in their state’s 22nd Congressional District will begin the process to replace Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican who left his seat in December to lead former president Donald Trump’s social media company.
Nunes is best known for fiercely defending Trump during the congressman’s time as House Intelligence Committee chairman against accusations that Trump’s 2016 campaign collaborated with Russia. Nunes also organized the Republican front against the Democrats’ first effort to impeach Trump.
While six candidates from all parties are vying for Nunes’s seat, Republicans are likely to hold the safely red district.
The real challenge will be for one of the four Republicans to earn the right to compete for the seat in the special election. Former state assemblywoman Connie Conway (R) appears to lead the primary.
And that’s just the start of special election season. As of April 1, 12 special elections have been called for this congressional session, including:
- Minnesota, May 24: Primary to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R), who died in February. The packed Republican field includes his widow, Jennifer Carnahan — the state’s former GOP chair, who resigned last year amid scandal.
- Alaska, June 11: Primary for the state’s sole district after the death of Rep. Don Young (R) — a seemingly irreplaceable politician who served in the House for 49 years.
- Texas, June 14: Special election to fill seat of former Rep. Filemon Vela, a Democrat who resigned last month to take a position at a law and lobbying firm.
- Nebraska, June 28: Primary to replace Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R), who resigned last month after being convicted of lying to the FBI. The rumored picks are state Sens. Mike Flood (R) and Patty Pansing Brooks (D).
Take a look: Ariz., Ky. moved abortion restriction bills forward last week
The passing of a restrictive Texas law last year that pretty much halted most abortions in the state has unleashed a succession of antiabortion measures being pushed in Republican-led legislatures all over the country.
Early last month, Florida banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The next week, Republicans in the Oklahoma Senate voted for two potentially restrictive bans, one that would outlaw abortion after six weeks of pregnancy and another after 30 days. By the end of March, Gov. Brad Little (R) had signed a measure making Idaho the first state to approve a law modeled after the Texas ban.
Six months after the Texas ban took effect, as the Supreme Court considers a case that could overturn or significantly weaken Roe, antiabortion legislators across the country are newly energized, passing bills that could reshape the abortion landscape in the United States by the end of the summer.… Lawmakers in several GOP-led states are pushing bills that mirror Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, the law at the heart of the case pending before the Supreme Court, hoping to maximize the chance that their legislation can take effect after the high court rules this summer.
Read more of their tracking work here.
The latest: Biden promised some big trucks on White House grounds. On that, he delivered.
President Biden on Monday used an event focused on trucking to tout for a second time last week’s jobs numbers as well as a bipartisan infrastructure bill that he signed into law in November.
The White House had promised “some big trucks” on the South Lawn for the event. On that count, no one will dispute that Biden delivered. A pair of large rigs served as his backdrop.
Biden held an event Friday to promote a robust report from the Labor Department that said the economy added 431,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate dropping to 3.6 percent. On Monday, he returned to the subject, giving his administration credit for the fastest decline in unemployment “of any presidential term ever recorded.”
Turning later to the infrastructure law, Biden talked up the investments in roads and bridges. “That means a bright future for American trucking,” he said.
The White House is eager to claim successes where it can, with inflation and high gas prices remaining top of mind for many Americans as the midterms approach.
Monday’s event was otherwise focused on steps the Biden administration is taking to recruit more people into the trucking industry and help alleviate supply chain shortages.
Noted: Buttigieg says his babies started day care, calls it ‘big day’
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, during remarks on the Biden administration’s trucking plan, noted that Monday was the first time his babies went to day care.
“This is a big day in my own household, because it was our first time taking our kids to day care,” the first-time father said, noting that, as he prepared his children that morning, he “kept looking around at all of the physical items that surrounded us and thought about how they got here.”
“Even the family minivan itself got to us because truck drivers brought them to where they needed to be,” Buttigieg said. “And that’s true for everything that we count on … That’s what makes this trucking action plan so important.”
Buttigieg and husband Chasten were the targets of Republican criticism last year when he took time off from work to spend time with their newborns, Penelope Rose and Joseph August. Fox News host Tucker Carlson mocked Buttigieg for taking leave, angering proponents of better parental leave policies, who argued that taking care of newborns is not a job solely for birth mothers.
Buttigieg struck back, saying he was “blessed” to benefit from the kind of family leave the Biden administration is seeking to make the national standard.
The transportation secretary has previously noted that a lack of access to child care has led to supply chain shortages in America, arguing that truckers are forced to stay off the road to care for their children.
Take a look: Cawthorn challenger compares him to the Kardashians
North Carolina state Sen. Chuck Edwards, who’s mounting a GOP primary challenge to embattled Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), has a new ad out in which he compares Cawthorn’s celebrity status to that of the Kardashians.
“Here in the mountains, we don’t seek the limelight. We put our heads down and get to work,” Edwards says in the spot. “If you want a celebrity, go watch the Kardashians.”
Cawthorn has come under heavy criticism from leaders of his party after describing alleged orgies and cocaine use by his colleagues. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has endorsed Edwards, saying Cawthorn had “fallen well short of the most basic standards western North Carolina expects from their representatives.”
Your questions answered: Why is Jackson facing a blockade from most Senate Republicans?
Why is Jackson facing a blockade from most Senate Republicans? asks Huy N. from Santa Ana, Calif.
Jackson is on track to secure Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court by week’s end — narrowly. So far, only Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) has said she will break ranks and vote for Biden’s nominee.
Collins has backed all but one Supreme Court nominee during her 26 years in the Senate. The two other Republicans seen as most likely to support Jackson are Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mitt Romney (Utah).
Senate Republicans have, throughout the confirmation process, complimented Jackson on her career and achievements. After meeting her, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) described her as “impressive,” and Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.) called her “well-qualified.”
They still won’t vote for her, and it all mainly comes down to how divisive Congress has become.
As our colleague Seung Min Kim noted, confirmation battles have become far more partisan in recent decades.
These days, any Supreme Court confirmation vote is almost certain to fall largely along partisan lines, reflecting the deepening polarization of the country — and the Senate.
In 1986, Antonin Scalia, nominated by a Republican, was confirmed 98 to 0, and in 1993, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, nominated by a Democrat, was confirmed 96 to 3. Fast-forward to more recent nomination battles, and the partisanship is evident: Samuel Alito, 58 to 42 in 2006. Elena Kagan, 63 to 37 in 2010. And Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed 52 to 48 in 2020.
Seung Min Kim: Graham goes where McConnell won’t — It’s a question I’ve wanted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to answer for some months: If Republicans take back the Senate majority and there is a hypothetical Supreme Court vacancy in 2023, would he give Biden’s nominee a hearing?In his typical fashion, McConnell has declined to answer. But Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C), who last chaired the Judiciary Committee when Republicans controlled the Senate, effectively said the quiet part out loud Monday morning during a committee meeting to consider Jackson’s nomination: “I’ll say this, if we get back the Senate and we are in charge of this body,” and there are “judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side. But if we were in charge, she would not have met before this committee.”Graham, though, caveats it slightly by saying that it was Jackson specifically who would not have been taken up by a GOP-controlled Senate — especially since, as he said, there was another candidate perceived as more moderate whom Biden had considered. (Graham was clearly referring to South Carolina federal judge J. Michelle Childs, one of the finalists.) But Democrats have certainly assumed Biden won’t get a single judge confirmed if McConnell runs the Senate, and Graham’s comments Monday added a bit more evidence to that view.
David Weigel: Some things have changed since Sarah Palin’s last run — The last time Palin appeared on Alaska’s ballot, George W. Bush was in the White House, Donald Trump was hosting “The Apprentice” — and she was urging voters to unseat Rep. Don Young (R).Palin’s last-minute entry into the race to replace Young, who died last month, shook up what had been a crowded but low-wattage race. So did Trump’s endorsement of her Sunday with a reminder that “she shocked many when she endorsed me very early in 2016.” As of Monday, 50 candidates had filed for Young’s open seat, and none had anything close to Palin’s name recognition, much less Trump’s.But Palin isn’t running in a Republican primary, the sort of contest where Trump’s endorsement has been most effective. One reason for the flood of candidates is that the June 11 election is the first to be held under a new “top four” system approved by voters in 2020.Every contender will appear on the same, long ballot, regardless of party, and the four who get the most votes will head to a second ballot Aug. 16. That will be the state’s first ranked-choice federal election, with voters rating their choices from 1 to 4, and votes being tallied up until one candidate cracks 50 percent support.
Paul Kane: The week ahead on the Hill — Both the House and Senate launch a busy legislative week Monday, with the hope of departing Thursday or Friday for a more than two-week spring break after lawmakers plan to dig deeper into the Jan. 6 investigation and make history with a Supreme Court confirmation.The nomination of Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer will dominate action in the Senate, where the Judiciary Committee is expected to deadlock Monday afternoon. Late Monday, Senate Democrats will use a procedural vote to bring the first Black woman’s nomination to the Supreme Court to the full Senate, then hold several days of debate before casting a final confirmation vote Thursday or Friday.All 50 members of the Democratic caucus, plus Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), have indicated support for this history-making selection. All eyes will be on Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to see if they add more bipartisan support.In the House, Democrats plan to vote out contempt of Congress citations against a pair of former Trump White House officials, Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino Jr., for refusing to cooperate with the select committee investigating the January 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.Meanwhile, bipartisan negotiations continue, with Romney leading the GOP side, on a roughly $10 billion package of pandemic relief funds to prepare the nation for the next likely surge in coronavirus cases, to purchase more vaccines, testing capacity and treatments for the disease.
Annie Linskey: The week ahead at the White House (which includes a return by Obama) — President Biden kicks off this week with splashy events on inflation and health care, an attempt by the White House to refocus attention on a domestic agenda which has been eclipsed recently by war in Ukraine.On Monday, Biden will give remarks on his efforts to attract more workers to the understaffed trucking industry via an outdoor event that the White House promises will be replete with “some big trucks.” On Tuesday, former president Barack Obama returns to the White House to talk with Biden about health care.Both appearances are designed to highlight ways that Biden is working to bring down prices. Polls show that inflation is a top concern for Americans and that rising prices are expected to be a major theme of the upcoming midterms elections. In Michigan on Saturday night, former president Donald Trump previewed the argument in a lengthy speech laced with references to high costs.The same polls reveal a small silver lining for Biden on inflation: Most voters don’t blame president for the price increases, with many citing either the pandemic or profit-taking by large companies as the culprit. But voters do want to see that Biden is trying to do something about the problem.
Robert Barnes: Jackson could have to wait awhile before taking her seat — If Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed to the Supreme Court this week, she’ll be in the unusual position of being something like a “justice-in-waiting.”That’s because Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the man she once worked for as a clerk and whose seat she would take, said his retirement will take place at the end of the current term.That usually is at the end of June or early July; Breyer has one last set of oral arguments this month. Then the court will continue rendering decisions in all the cases it has heard since October, including a challenge to Roe v. Wade.
