Cory Booker Moves Judge Jackson To Tears At SCOTUS Hearing: Video

NEWARK, NJ — One by one, the questions came pouring in from Republicans on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee during Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearings last week. She was pressed for her views on critical race theory. She was asked to define what the word “woman” means. She faced claims that she was too easy on people accused of possessing child pornography.

And when it was over, the barrage of questions – and the tone that often accompanied them – left many people shaking their heads with disappointment, including Sen. Cory Booker.

On the third day of the hearings, Booker, a Newark resident and Democrat, criticized several of his Republican colleagues for their “sad” questioning of Jackson, giving a speech of support that moved the Supreme Court nominee to tears (watch the video below).

Praising Jackson’s composure under fire, Booker said “nobody is gonna steal the joy” that her nomination has already brought to many Americans.

“You have earned this spot,” he asserted in a voice that wavered with emotion at several points, adding that Jackson isn’t defined by her race and gender, but by her qualifications.

“You are worthy,” Booker emphasized. “You are a great American.”

Booker’s speech – and Jackson's reaction – got the full attention of “every Republican in the room,” which remained respectfully silent for the duration of his remarks, Fox News reported.

Jackson would be the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court if confirmed.

“What we saw though this week was to me outrageous and beyond the pale,” the senator told NBC News, adding that the hearings were “very different” from the others that he has witnessed.

“What some of my colleagues did was just sad, frankly,” Booker said.

While he stopped short of calling last week’s questioning racist – and he added that there were also some valid questions posed by his GOP peers – Booker told CNN that the way they treated Jackson brought up a “familiar hurt” that many Americans have felt all too often in their lifetimes.

“To me, it's just about the kind of way we're going to treat folk,” Booker said. “And I think it's a kind of thing that a lot of folks, women of all races, have had to endure often when they get into a room that they're qualified to be in, but are yet questioned in ways that are disappointing.”

That sentiment seemed to resonate with many of Jackson’s supporters, several of whom spoke to The New York Times about Booker’s speech and the hearings.

As the Times reported:

“In the hearing’s stinging exchanges, some Black women said they saw the same hardly veiled discrimination that they have experienced at times in their personal and professional lives. They also recognized Judge Jackson’s response: the same steely endurance that they have tried to display through gritted teeth, even when under far less intense public scrutiny.”

Booker joined the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in 2018 alongside then-Sen. Kamala Harris. It marked the first time that the committee had seen two Black members serving at the same time in more than two centuries of existence. Read More: US Senate Committee Had 1 Black Member In 200 Years (Until Now)

Some Republicans and conservatives have since argued that the questioning of Jackson paled in comparison to what Brett Kavanaugh faced from Democrats in 2018.

Those panning Booker’s rebuttal included Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sarcastically called him a “remarkable actor” and described his speech as “nauseating theatrics.”

Meanwhile, Jackson has picked up support from other conservatives, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who said she “possesses the experience, qualifications and integrity to serve as an associate justice on the Supreme Court.”

Booker’s speech has ignited a firestorm of comments online in support of Jackson, including from the She Will Rise initiative.

“People have said a lot about Cory Booker. Some of it deserved,” a co-founder of the group tweeted. “But right now… the support he is giving Ketanji Brown Jackson is so very appreciated. He is showing up and showing out. It is what all Black Women deserve.”

The group released a statement last week that summarized the feelings of many people who watched the confirmation hearings. It partially read:

“The Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson represents a unique and important first for this country, after nearly 233 years, as our first Black American woman nominated and hopefully confirmed to this distinguished body. As a collective of organizations representing Black women across America, we could not be silent to the attacks over the course of these proceedings. Despite her impeccable qualifications and endorsements from diverse constituents lending their support, we watched in horror. A horror that was all too familiar to the lived experience of many Black women in America. A horror that exploits the best intention, effort and credentials set forth-– despite all odds—to trivialize, demoralize and dehumanize our contributions to our great democracy. A horror that incessantly baited her to manifest the characterization of an ‘angry Black woman,’ unsuccessfully.”

“The American people see through these desperate attacks,” the group said. “They are unworthy of the governing body and the bench the Honorable Ketanji Brown Jackson seeks. What a missed opportunity to affirm a qualified American who has given so much to our great nation. How telling are the deceiving and demeaning tactics being deployed by those with limited knowledge on the law and her full judicial record, and an insatiable appetite to explore issues meant to incense the American people.”

The committee is expected to vote on Jackson's nomination on April 4.

Jackson has served as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since 2021. Read more about her qualifications and background here.

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