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President Biden Introduces Ketanji Brown Jackson as Supreme Court Pick. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired February 25, 2022 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:00]

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: As you said, she went to her day job this morning and appeared on the Court of Appeals bench hearing just a routine case. But she will be in the White House with their family this afternoon.

And then the confirmation process begins. Democrats would like to see are confirmed by the April recess. That's mid-April, Victor.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Before we get to that confirmation process, Joan, just tell us what we need to know about Judge Jackson. I mean, she's obviously very interesting.

I have really enjoyed reading about her background, including that she was a public defender.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right, Alisyn. And that's that's rare experience for this court. You would have to go back all the way to 1967, when Thurgood Marshall was appointed, the civil rights pioneer, worked a lot in criminal defense and all sorts of public defender-type work.

And she would be the only -- first person since then. She's also got the rare trial experience. So she's been in the trenches, both for civil and criminal trials. Justice Sotomayor had some trial experience back in the '90s. But Judge Jackson would be our next appointee coming on with that sort of experience.

So she's actually seen how Supreme Court rulings play out on the ground. So you have that. And then, as everybody's been saying about this moment, it's been 233 years of the Supreme Court history, and the first time with an African-American woman.

So you have got this really special perspective that she's bringing to the court. And I think that can make a difference, Alisyn, even though right now, the court is very much entrenched in the 6-3 conservative liberal lock on this court.

But I think that, because of her unusual background, what she represents in terms of diversity, and also just how all the justices change a bit when a new justice comes on, I think we can -- we will probably start to see the influence of her once she's confirmed and on the bench. And one other thing I would like to say about the president's choice

here. He had to think about who he wanted for the court at this time, but also who he wanted for the court for the decades. If she lives to be as old as the man who she's succeeding, Justice Breyer, for whom she clerked, who is 83, she'd be on for more than three decades.

So I think we have to take the long view, as well as to look at how she could have an impact right now.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: All right, we are just a few seconds out. Here we see President Biden coming in with -- and there she is -- Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who will be his nominee to the Supreme Court. Let's listen to the president.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon.

Today, as we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I'm here to fulfill my responsibilities under the Constitution to preserve freedom and liberty here in the United States of America.

And it is my honor to introduce to the country a daughter of former public schoolteachers, a proven consensus-builder, an accomplished lawyer, a distinguished jurist, one of the nation's most -- on one of the nation's most prestigious courts.

My nominee for the United States Supreme Court is Judge Ketanji Jackson.

Four weeks ago, when a member of the court, a friend of mine -- we used to work together in the Senate -- Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement, I said then choosing someone to serve on the United States Supreme Court is one of the most serious constitutional responsibility a president has. And I mean, it.

I promised the process would be rigorous, that I would select a nominee worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy of excellence and decency, someone extremely qualified, with a brilliant legal mind, with the utmost character and integrity, which are equally as important, and that I would bring this decision -- to this decision my perspective as a lawyer, former constitutional law professor, chairman of the Judiciary Committee for many, many years, and -- I'm almost reluctant to say it -- someone who has presided over more Supreme Court nominations than almost anyone living today, which makes me 28 years old.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: I started doing it when I was 32 -- and who has devoted much of my career to thinking about the Constitution and the role of the Supreme Court.

With that perspective, I carefully studied the record of candidates. I have invited senators of both political parties to offer their ideas and points of view. And I met with a number of them.

As a result, I -- because I truly respect not only the consent -- I know they give consent, but it says -- the Constitution says advice and consent. And I sought the advice of Democrats and Republicans. I have consulted with leading legal scholars and lawyers.

And I have been fortunate to have the advice of the -- Vice President Harris. And I mean this sincerely, an exceptional lawyer, a former attorney general in California, and a former member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

[14:05:04]

And during this process, I said look for someone who, like Justice Breyer, has a pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people, someone who has historical perspective to understand that the Constitution is a resilient charter of liberty, someone with the wisdom to appreciate that the Constitution protects certain inalienable rights, rights that fall within the most fundamental personal freedoms that our society recognizes.

And someone with extraordinary character, who will bring to the Supreme Court an independent mind, uncompromising integrity, and with a strong moral compass and the courage to stand up for what she thinks is right.

For too long, our government, our courts haven't looked like America. And I believe it's time that we have a court reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications, and that we inspire all young people to believe that they can one day serve their country at the highest level.

I have admired these traits of pragmatism, historical perspective, wisdom, character in the jurists nominated by Republican presidents, as well as Democratic presidents.

And, today, I'm pleased to introduce to the American people a candidate who continues in this great tradition.

Judge Jackson grew up in Miami, Florida -- and, by the way, the mayor of Miami, a Republican, endorsed you. I thought that was interesting.

Her parents grew up with segregation, but never gave up hope that their children would enjoy the true promise of America. Her parents graduated from historic black colleges and became public schoolteachers, her mom a principal, her dad a teacher who later went back to school and became a lawyer representing that very school district -- school board.

Judge Jackson describes finding her love for the law from an apartment complex at the University of Miami, where her dad was attending law school. She would draw in her coloring book in the dining room table next to her dad's law books. She grew up to be a star student, elected mayor of her junior high school, and president of her high school class, where she was a standout. She was a standout on the speech and debate team.

And it was after a debate tournament that took place at Harvard when she was in high school that she believed she could one day be a student there. There were those who told her she shouldn't set her sights too high, but she refused to accept limits others set for her.

And she did go on to Harvard undergraduate school, where she graduated magna cum laude. She went on to attend Harvard Law School, where she was a top student and editor of the prestigious "Law Review."

Then she applied for a highly competitive and coveted clerkship on the United States Supreme Court, and she was selected. The justice who thought she was worthy of this high honor, was a young lawyer, was none other than Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat I'm nominating her to fill.

Not only does he learn about being a judge from Justice Breyer himself. She saw the great rigor through which Justice Breyer approached his work. She learned from his willingness to work with colleagues with different viewpoints, critical qualities, from my view, for any Supreme Court justice.

Now, years later, she steps up to fill Justice Breyer's place on the court with a uniquely accomplished and wide-ranging background. She served both in public service as a federal public defender, a federal public defender, and in private law practice as an accomplished lawyer and with a prestigious law firm.

If confirmed, she will join Justice Sotomayor as the only other member of the United States Supreme Court who has experience as a trial court judge, a critical qualification in my view, and, once again, following the footsteps of her mentor, Justice Breyer, she would become the only member of the court who previously served as a member of the United States Sentencing Commission.

And she brings additional perspective to the court as well. She comes from a family of law enforcement, with her brother and uncles having served as police officers. That's one reason I expect why the Fraternal Order of Police, the national organization, today said -- and I quote -- "There's little doubt she has the temperament, the intellect and the legal experience and family background to have earned this appointment."

And they went on to say they're confident she will -- quote -- "approach her future cases with an open mind and treat issues related to law enforcement fairly and justly."

Incredibly, Judge Jackson has already been confirmed by the United States Senate three times, first to serve on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, a bipartisan independent commission we helped -- I helped design to reduce the unwarranted disparities in sentencing and promote transparency and fairness in the criminal justice system.

[14:10:15]

On the commission, Judge Jackson was known for working with Democrats and Republicans to find common ground on critical issues. Second, she was concerned by -- confirmed by the United States Senate with bipartisan support on the federal district court to administer justice with the special rigors and fairness that come from presiding over trials. And, third, she was confirmed with a bipartisan Senate vote to serve

on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, considered the second most powerful court behind the Supreme Court itself, and the court she once argued cases before as a distinguished advocate.

And when Judge Jackson was nominated to the circuit court, one of its distinguished retired members, Judge Thomas Griffith, a former general counsel of Brigham Young University and a George Bush appointee to the court, said he backed her enthusiastically, hailing her, hailing her exemplary legal career in both public and private practice and, he went on to say, her careful approach as a trial court judge.

Judge Jackson's service on the district circuit court of -- the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is another superb qualification for service on the Supreme Court. Three of her -- of the current Supreme Court justices also served as the D.C. Circuit judges, where Judge Jackson now serves.

Her opinions are always carefully reasoned, tethered to precedent, and demonstrate respect for how the law impacts everyday people. It doesn't mean she puts her thumb on the scale of justice one way or the other, but she understands the broader impact of her decisions. Whether it's cases addressing the rights of workers or government service, she cares about making sure that our democracy works for the American people.

She listens. She looks people in the eye, lawyers, defendants, victims and families. And she strives to ensure that everyone understands why she made a decision, what the law is, and what it means to them. She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice.

That's something all of us should remember. And it's something I have thought about throughout this process.

And, as a matter of fact, I thought about it walking over here with her. One floor below, we have several displays celebrating Black History Month. One of them includes the judicial oath of office taken and signed by Justice Thurgood Marshall himself, an oath that will be once again administered to a distinguished American who will help write the next chapter in the history and the journey of America, a journey that Judge Jackson will take with her family.

I hope I don't embarrass him, but her husband, Patrick, a surgeon -- Dr. Patrick, stand up. Let them see who you are. There you go.

They met when they were undergraduate students at Harvard, and he's a distinguished cancer surgeon at Georgetown. And like so many women in this country, Judge Jackson is a working mom. She had her eldest child, Talia, when she was a private lawyer in practice. She had her second child, Leila, when she served as the U.S. -- on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Stand up, Leila. I asked Leila when I showed her through the office whether she would like to be president. She looked: "No, I don't know about that."

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: There's other things -- anyway, Leila, you're welcome to be here. Thank you so much.

And welcome your sister, who's up in school in Rhode Island now.

I have children and grandchildren. And let me tell you, Judge, you're always a mom. That's not going to change, no matter what you're doing. You're on -- whether you're on a Supreme Court or not.

And I have always had a deep respect for the Supreme Court and judiciary as a co-equal branch of the government. And I mean it. The court is equally as important as the presidency or the Congress. It's co-equal.

So, today, I'm pleased to nominate Judge Jackson, who will bring extraordinary qualifications, deep experience and intellect, and a rigorous judicial record to the court. Judge Jackson deserves to be confirmed as the next justice to the Supreme Court.

I have met with the chairman and ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Chuck Grassley. And my hope is that they will move promptly. And I know they will move fairly.

Judge Jackson, congratulations. And the podium is yours.

Let me pull this out for you. How -- where is it? There you go. You got it? The button? OK. See, presidents can't do much.

Thank you.

KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Thank you, Mr. President.

[14:15:01]

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

JACKSON: Thank you very much, Mr. President.

I am truly humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination. And I am especially grateful for the care that you have taken in discharging your constitutional duty in service of our democracy, with all that is going on in the world today.

I also offer my sincere thanks to you as well, Madam Vice President, for your invaluable role in this nomination process.

I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey. My life has been blessed beyond measure. And I do know that one can only come this far by faith. Among my many blessings, and, indeed, the very first, is the fact that I was born in this great country. The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known. I was also blessed from my early days to have had a supportive and loving family.

My mother and father, who have been married for 54 years, are at their home in Florida right now, and I know that they could not be more proud.

It was my father who started me on this path when I was a child. As the president mentioned, my father made the fateful decision to transition from his job as a public high school history teacher and go to law school. Some of my earliest memories are of him sitting at the kitchen table reading his law books.

I watched him study, and he became my first professional role model. My mother, who was also a public high school teacher, provided invaluable support in those early days, working full time to enable my father's career transition, while also guiding and inspiring 4-year- old me.

My only sibling, my brother, Ketajh, came along half-a-decade later, and I'm so proud of all that he's accomplished. After graduating from Howard University, he became a police officer and a detective on some of the toughest streets in the inner city of Baltimore.

After that, he enlisted in the Army, serving two tours of duty in the Middle East. I believe that he was following the example set by my uncles, who are in law enforcement. You may have read that I have one uncle who got caught up in the drug trade, and received a life sentence. That is true.

But law enforcement also runs in my family. In addition to my brother, I had two uncles who served decades as police officers, one of whom became the police chief in my hometown of Miami, Florida.

I am standing here today by the grace of God as testament to the love and support that I have received from my family. I have also been blessed with many dear friends, colleagues, mentors, law clerks. I could not possibly name all of the people to whom I owe great thanks.

But I must mention specifically the three brilliant jurists for whom I had the privilege of serving as a law clerk at the outset of my legal career, U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Massachusetts, U.S. Court of Appeals Bruce -- Judge Bruce Selya in Rhode Island, and last, but certainly not least, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Justice Breyer, in particular, not only gave me the greatest job that any young lawyer could ever hope to have, but he also exemplified every day in every way that a Supreme Court justice can perform at the highest level of skill and integrity, while also being guided by civility, grace, pragmatism, and generosity of spirit.

Justice Breyer, the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, but please know that I could never fill your shoes.

To my dear family, those who are here with me now and those who are watching from home, I am forever indebted to you for your love and support.

[14:20:06]

To my beloved husband, Patrick, thank you for being my rock today and every day for this -- these past 26 years. I love you.

To my daughters, Talia and Leila, you are the light of my life. Please know that whatever title I may hold or whatever job I may have, I will still be your mom. That will never change.

(LAUGHTER)

JACKSON: There are so many other people I would love to be able to address and to thank, but time is short.

So let me end by sharing an interesting coincidence that has actually meant a great deal to me over the years.

As it happens, I share a birthday with the first black woman ever to be appointed as a federal judge, the Honorable Constance Baker Motley. We were born exactly 49 years to the day apart.

Today, I proudly stand on Judge Motley's shoulders, sharing not only her birthday, but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law. Judge Motley's life and career has been a true inspiration to me as I have pursued this professional path.

And if I'm fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded will inspire future generations of Americans.

Thank you again, Mr. President, for this extraordinary honor.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: I forgot to introduce the first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, and the second gentleman -- I -- that seems strange to say that, but the second -- Douglas Emhoff. They're both here as well.

So, thank you. Thank you all.

(APPLAUSE)

CAMEROTA: OK, you have been watching a historic moment there, President Biden just nominating the first black woman, Ketanji Brown Jackson, judge, I should say, to the Supreme Court.

And she got up there, Victor, and spoke about her own background, which, though this is historic, is also relatable to so many of us. BLACKWELL: Yes.

CAMEROTA: She has -- she had public schoolteacher parents. So did I.

She has police officers in her family. So do so many people. HBCU background. So do you.

BLACKWELL: Yes, Howard University shout-out, yes.

CAMEROTA: Exactly.

So, there were a lot of touch points there that she hit on.

BLACKWELL: This is about telling a story, as much as it is about introducing the next potential justice of the Supreme Court. So they tried to weave in both that experience and also that personal narrative, the twin tracks as we talked about at the top of the show.

CAMEROTA: Back with us, we have Joan Biskupic, Jeff Zeleny, Abby Phillip, Laura Coates, Gloria Borger.

Laura, tell us what you heard there in Judge Jackson -- sorry -- Judge Brown Jackson -- introducing herself to the country.

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I have to tell you, I -- my heart feels full. I'm not sure I will be able to remove the smile off my face today.

I am unbelievably proud in this moment to have witnessed what I just did. Not only did I see the vice president of the United States on her -- behind her, but also seeing this profoundly talented, eloquent, well-versed in the law and dignity and humanity, to relay why she ought to be exactly where she is today.

Hearing her talk about not only her quest and love of the law, having her invoke the late Constance Baker Motley, speak about her own relatives having been incarcerated -- mine have as well in some instances -- the idea of the intersectionality we're talking, about all the different facets of what it takes to be who she is, was just profoundly moving to watch and to see, and not the least of which as a mother to watch her speak about her children, and about the reverence she has for her mentors throughout the field of law.

But, most importantly, what I think she brings here is the knowledge of, don't we want somebody in the Supreme Court of the United States, only nine of them, to reflect the people of the United States, not just in scholarship, although her credentials, frankly, sounded as if Mount Olympus decided to choose and give her each of the credentials and gave this great, almost a legal deity of sorts.

And yet she disrupted the myth that you had to be but one thing in order to be a Supreme Court justice, her background in Sentencing Commission, her background as a public defender, her background in a trial courtroom, her background as a district court and a D.C. Circuit Court judge.

[14:25:12]

All of these things tell you that 99.9999 percent of all the cases the Supreme Court will hear are not just the ones that get in the headlines, but those that profoundly impact the day-to-day in America of everyday people.

And to hear about this notion that the Fraternal Order of Police also supporting, the notion that this is somebody, as a defender, as a proponent of civil rights, as a proponent of fair sentencing and due process, I sincerely hope that she will get the benefit of the very due process that she has attempted to secure for the presumed innocent, because, certainly, after that resume, after that speech, she ought to be presumed this next Supreme Court justice in the United States of America.

BLACKWELL: Abby, the president said that our government and our courts haven't looked like America, as he stands there with the first black woman vice president over one shoulder, and the first black woman nominee to the Supreme Court over the other.

And, still, most of what we heard was about experience. It was about her time as a trial lawyer, also as a public defender. What did you hear today?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, at the end of the day, this is about her experience. It's about her professional experience, but also her lived experience as a person, a black woman in this country.

And to Laura's point, it's not just about the -- it's not just about her skin color. It's about where she comes from. It's about who her family is. It's about where she went to school. All of those factors play into it. And as much as this is about, is she qualified, I think most people would agree she is supremely qualified, what the president is doing, what Judge Brown Jackson is doing is painting a portrait of who she is as a person, and how that reflects back on America as a nation, because this is not just a court seat for this moment.

This is a court seat for the rest of her life, and she is a young person. And so, to the extent that she was trying -- I think what she was trying to do was just explain that she is a lot of things, just like this country is. That's what they're trying to do in these moments. And it's extremely important to not just limit the bandwidth of this just to the fact that she is a black woman.

She has a background, like all the justices do, that is varied and that comes into play when they are interpreting and -- interpreting the law and passing down opinions that will stand for beyond their lifetimes.

CAMEROTA: Gloria, President Biden was talking about his long experience with Supreme Court nominees, as, of course, he was the longtime chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he said he's presided over more Supreme Court nominees than most anyone else living today. And I think that math actually makes sense. He's seen a lot. However,

things are different now than when he was in the Senate. And so should he be prepared here for a more bruising political battle ahead? Or is that not going to happen?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, look, every Supreme Court battle is intense.

He was in the middle of one of the most intense Supreme Court battles, Judge Bork, in the middle of Clarence Thomas. And even he will tell you that he did not always comport himself the way he should have. So I think he's had a lot of experience with this.

I think that is why and it's one of the reasons they took the opportunity to introduce her to the American public, not as just a brilliant judge, which she obviously is, but as a human being.

And this is the difference here. This is a person who has been a public defender, who has worked for large lucrative law firms, who has been a judge, who has a family in which someone got involved with drugs when they shouldn't have, who's a mother.

And I think it was sort of a -- they decided to do it because they did want to president her as a whole, not just somebody qualified, which she is, and not just somebody whose ideology is going to be challenged, which it will, but somebody who has lived and prospered in this country in a way that lots of people can either say, gee, I would like that for my children, or that happened to me. She was given opportunities maybe that I wish I had had.

In so many ways, she became so relatable to people. And I think that is the most important thing we saw today.

BLACKWELL: Jeff Zeleny, to you.

[14:30:00]