Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville to Vote “No” on Biden Supreme Court Nominee

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson with U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) – Photo from Office of U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) says he will vote “no” on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

It’s up to the U.S. Senate to vote on whether to place her on the high court. Last week, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) said he would vote no on Jackson’s nomination.

Tuberville has released a statement on his decision, saying in part:

“First, I want to note how important it was to me that I met with Judge Jackson one-on-one. We covered a lot of ground in our meeting last week, including a robust discussion about the protection of second amendment rights and the importance of following the rule of law. But I made it a point to ask her about her stance on crime and her record of sentencing criminals.

“From 2013 to 2021, Judge Jackson served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. During her tenure there, Judge Jackson routinely imposed sentences that were shorter than those requested by the prosecutors and shorter than the guidelines. Point being, Judge Jackson let those who were convicted of a crime off easy, so I took the opportunity to ask about this in our meeting.

“Judge Jackson’s answers to my questions were thoughtful but did not relieve my concerns about her sentencing record, particularly her record on sentencing criminals who preyed on young children. That means holding criminals accountable to the full letter of the law. And listening to the calls I am getting from folks back home, Alabamians agree.”