- Biden has chosen DC Court of Appeals Judge
Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on theSupreme Court . - Blackburn said it was "extremely inappropriate" for Biden to announce his pick amid
Russia 's invasion ofUkraine .
Republican Sen.
Biden has nominated DC Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as the first Black woman on the court to replace retiring liberal justice Stephen Breyer.
"President Biden's announcement just days after an unprovoked full scale invasion by Russia is extremely inappropriate," Blackburn wrote in a tweet. "Once again, Biden is putting the demands of the radical progressive left ahead of what is best for our nation."
Blackburn argued that Biden used the announcement as a way to distract from the crisis and criticized him for having instituted a sanctions waiver on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which Senate Republicans and even some Democrats have opposed.
"It is an attempt to hide that for over three months Biden refused to levy sanctions against Russia or send military assistance to Ukraine," she said.
Last month, Biden created a self-imposed deadline to announce his Supreme Court nominee by the end of February. By declaring his nominee on Friday, he stuck to his original timeline for a speedy confirmation process ahead of this year midterm election.
—Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 25, 2022
She went on to say that she "cannot hold President Biden's failure to lead our nation against his nominee" and plans to meet with her in person "to determine if she is a person of high character."
"We must not blindly confirm a justice to serve as a rubber stamp for a radical progressive agenda," she added.
Blackburn is a member of both the Armed Services Committee, which oversees the nation's military, and the Judiciary Committee. Her remarks were echoed via a statement from the Senate Judiciary Republicans' Twitter account.
"As the world witnesses Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine intensify, Pres. Biden's Friday [Supreme Court] announcement is peculiar timing," read the statement. Why is [Biden] more interested in sticking to his self imposed timeline than focusing on the crisis at hand in Ukraine?"
—Senate Judiciary Republicans (@SenJudiciaryGOP) February 25, 2022
Other Republicans, however, have been more muted in their criticism of Biden's nominee so far. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wanted the Senate to "conduct a rigorous, exhaustive review of Judge Jackson's nomination" while dinging her for having published "a total of two opinions, both in the last few weeks."
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has offered praise for Biden's pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, declared on Friday that the "radical Left has won over President Biden" because he did not select Graham's preferred choice, South Carolina District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs.