The Senate is expected to confirm Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court

The Senate is expected to confirm Judge Jackson to the Supreme¹ Court

Transcript²

Senators will vote Thursday on whether to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the high court. Her fate was never in doubt, but was cemented when three GOP senators said they would vote for her.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The Senate is expected to vote today to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the highest court of the land. Her fate was never in doubt, but was cemented when three Republican senators said they would join with all 50 Democrats³ to confirm Judge Jackson. Judge Jackson would make history as the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court. And despite her legal bona fides, her confirmation⁴ was not without controversy⁵. Joining us now to discuss all this is NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. Hi, Nina.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁶: Hello there, Leila.

FADEL: So why was there so much opposition⁷ from Republicans to Judge Jackson's nomination⁸?

TOTENBERG: The Republicans cited concerns with her judicial⁹ philosophy, her sentencing record in a handful of cases related to child pornography - which they've called sympathetic to offenders¹⁰ - and her record as a public defender¹¹ for a couple of Guantanamo Bay detainees. But let's get down to basics. Republicans were largely going to oppose whoever Biden chose. Senate Republican leaders wouldn't even give Obama nominee¹² Merrick Garland a hearing - remember that? So for literally¹³ more than a decade, they've built a wall of opposition to liberal and moderate judicial nominees¹⁴, especially at the Supreme Court level, but for all levels. Let me just give you one statistic¹⁵. According to Russell Wheeler of the Brookings Institution, if you look at the appeals court nominees in the first two years of the Trump¹⁶ administration, 15 out of 30 got at least ten Democratic votes. And if you compare that to the Biden nominees in the first year - plus a little - only two out of 15 got more than ten Republican votes. So when you get to a Supreme Court nomination, everything is on steroids, and South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham is a prime example.

FADEL: So Senator Graham voted for the two most recent Democratic nominees to the Supreme Court - Justices Sotomayor and Kagan - and he voted to confirm Jackson a year ago for the court of appeals, but now he's not voting for Judge Jackson. Why?

TOTENBERG: Well, for whatever reason, Graham worked himself into a temper when the potential nominee he was supporting, Judge Michelle Childs, from his home state of South Carolina, didn't get nominated. From the get-go at the confirmation hearing, it was clear he would take out that disappointment on Judge Jackson. In fact, Graham even said her nomination should never have been considered by the committee, and if Republicans regain¹⁸ the Senate, he seemed to say, they simply would refuse to consider nominees like her.

FADEL: It's worth noting, though, that three Republican senators have now said they will vote to confirm Judge Jackson - Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt¹⁷ Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, right?

TOTENBERG: Right. For me, the most interesting of the three is Romney because, less than a year ago, he voted against Jackson when she was nominated to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

FADEL: Oh.

TOTENBERG: My assumption is that, back then, Romney was being a good team player and voting the way Mitch McConnell wanted him to. And this time, he actually thought about it and decided¹⁹ that, while he didn't expect to agree with every decision Judge Jackson might make, she, quote, "more than meets the standard of excellence²⁰ and integrity." And Lisa Murkowski, who has a tough primary race this year, said something very similar and added that her vote, quote, "also rests on my rejection²¹ of the corrosive²² politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which on both sides of the aisle²³ is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year."

FADEL: And Senator Collins made a similar point in her statement, right?

TOTENBERG: Yes. She said that anyone who watched the Jackson confirmation hearings would reach the conclusion that the confirmation process is, quote, "broken."

FADEL: NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg. Thank you so much.

TOTENBERG: Thank you.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

5 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

9 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

10 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

11 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

12 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

13 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

14 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

15 statistic   

n.统计量；adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• Official statistics show real wages declining by 24%.官方统计数字表明实际工资下降了24%。
• There are no reliable statistics for the number of deaths in the battle.关于阵亡人数没有可靠的统计数字。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

18 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

19 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

20 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

21 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

22 corrosive   

adj.腐蚀性的；有害的；恶毒的

参考例句：

• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。
• Many highly corrosive substances are used in the nuclear industry.核工业使用许多腐蚀性很强的物质。

23 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。