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Republicans Blasted For Walking Out During Applause After Ketanji Brown Jackson Is Confirmed
On Thursday, April 6, the Senate officially confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the United States Supreme Court to replace the outgoing Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.
Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court. Her historic moment was met with applause after she was confirmed in a 53-47 vote.
But not everyone was happy.
Video footage of the moment shows several Republican Senators walked out amid the applause.
Some Republicans walk out during the applause. Mitt Romney stays and continues to clappic.twitter.com/b9z8huQQIY— Acyn (@Acyn) 1649355753
The one Republican Senator filmed joining the applause as colleagues walked out was Senator Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who along with Senators Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) broke with the GOP to confirm Jackson to significant criticism from their colleagues.
Sitting next to Romney was Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who was caught on camera gathering his belongings amid the applause.
The video soon attracted the attention of The Lincoln Project, a political action committee formed by former and incumbent Republicans who've criticized the GOP's trajectory since former President Donald Trump took office.
In a tweet, the organization suggested the opposition from Republicans is racially motivated, saying "they're afraid of the court representing what America actually looks like."
47 Republican Senators voted no on KBJ's nomination because they're afraid of the court representing what America actually looks like.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— The Lincoln Project (@The Lincoln Project) 1649358494
Others offered similar criticisms of Republicans for their behavior.
Odd way to prove how not racist the GOP ishttps://twitter.com/acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— Chris Meloni (@Chris Meloni) 1649424998
Literally the ONLY possible reason to not be in support of her is race. She is more than qualified.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— hutch (@hutch) 1649388940
This visual will be used to motivate black turnout (especially black women) in November. \n\nTalk about poor optics for the GOP. Kudos to @MittRomney for doing the right thing.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— Matt Walton, M.Ed (@Matt Walton, M.Ed) 1649386373
In all fairness they were running late for their hood fitting appointment.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— Chief Resistance Officer (@Chief Resistance Officer) 1649367372
Dems should take this repugnant, disrespectful image of GOP walking out #KJB and use in ads all across the battlegrounds to show who these people are and motivate voters in the center & on the lefthttps://twitter.com/acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— Cornell Belcher (@Cornell Belcher) 1649375191
To be honest, I\u2019m surprised the @SenateGOP didn\u2019t carry tiki torches and chant \u201cJews will not replace us\u201d as they stormed out.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— Sgt Joker (@Sgt Joker) 1649367637
Except for Mitt\u2019s stance and applause, the bratty racism on display here is pretty profound.https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— George Hahn (@George Hahn) 1649370647
Another reminder of how little respect they really have for our country & our institutions.https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1512133744219475986\u00a0\u2026— Sari Beth Rosenberg (@Sari Beth Rosenberg) 1649373091
Jackson's confirmation process was politically contentious, characterized by repeated attacks from Republicans who cast her as a liberal extremist with a lenient sentencing record.
Earlier this week, Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was criticized for attacking Collins, Murkowski and Romney for vowing to vote to confirm Jackson, suggesting they were "pro-pedophile."
During Jackson's confirmation hearings, top Republicans including Senator Josh Hawley (Missouri), accused Jackson of being too lenient on child sex offenders, pointing to her past statements on sex offender registries and civil commitment, in addition to her views on mandatory minimums.
Conservatives who suggested Jackson's rulings were evidence she "supports pedophilia" were quickly fact checked by The New York Times, which noted "they omitted the context of her remarks and sentencing decisions."
Similarly, Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton was excoriated by Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Jaime Harrison after he said that Jackson might have defended Nazis accused of war crimes if given the opportunity.