Maine Sen. Susan Collins criticized Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's accusation that she and two other Republican lawmakers who supported the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson were "pro-pedophile."
The Georgia official launched the outlandish attack on Monday and echoes her past support for the QAnon conspiracy theory that claims former U.S. President Donald Trump was working to "take down" a powerful cabal of child traffickers. The suspects were typically portrayed as the Democratic elite.
Collins vs Greene
People who believed in the theory, which was already debunked, claim that the Democratic Party supported pedophiles. Collins' support for Jackson was echoed by Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah. The final vote for U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee is expected later this week.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley was the first to accuse Jackson of being light in her sentencing of child porn offenders, remarks that were made during the nominee's confirmation hearings. The issue became a running theme among Republicans despite multiple analyses showing that the Black woman's rulings were within the mainstream of her fellow judges, as per Yahoo News.
On Tuesday, Collins said that Greene's Twitter post was something that people have already come to expect. She said that the accusation did not trouble her because it had no hint of truth behind it.
Many experts and fact-checkers have called the statements saying that Jackson was lenient on child porn offenders misleading, typical of other federal judges, and lacking context. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz joined in on the accusations in some of the tense moments of Jackson's hearings.
According to People, Greene has had a history of headline-making behavior on social media platforms and has continued to express support for QAnon conspiracies. However, the lawmaker later regretted her support for the theory, saying she should be allowed to believe in things that were not true.
Ketanji Brown Jackson's Confirmation
The Senate Judiciary Committee tied on Jackson's confirmation at 11-11, which prompted Democrats to use an unusual procedure that would force the nomination out of the panel. The proposal gained majority support of 53-47.
Murkowski expressed her support of Jackson in a statement saying that her decision was made partly to reject the "corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year."
The Alaska official praised Jackson's qualifications, which she said no one questioned, her demonstrated judicial independence, her demeanor and temperament, and the important perspective she would bring to the country's highest court.
In Romney's statement, he called the nominee a "well-qualified jurist and a person of honor," and came after another contentious day in the Judiciary Committee. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that lawmakers should not be resorting to the drastic move but argued that it was needed to move Jackson's confirmation forward.
On Monday, GOP lawmakers called Jackson a progressive activist who was soft on crime while Democrats praised her qualifications and experiences, saying that she deserved to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, the New York Times reported.
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Ketanji Brown Jackson Moves Closer to SC Confirmation After Gaining Some Republican Support
