ICYMI: 59 former US Attorneys & DOJ Officials Call on Senate to Confirm Judge Jackson

In a letter released yesterday, 59 former US Attorneys and DOJ Officials called on the Senate to confirm Judge Jackson, praising her "extraordinary" academic credentials and her "even-handed" treatment of the defense and prosecution alike when she has ruled.

Read more below:

NBC News: Loretta Lynch, former DOJ officials urge Jackson confirmation to Supreme Court
[Sahil Kapur, 3/10/22]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson received an endorsement to her Supreme Court nomination from 59 former Justice Department officials, including former Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Sally Yates, who served as the acting Attorney General.

The letter said the signers "urge the confirmation" of President Joe Biden's nominee in a new letter to Senate leaders.

The letter — dated March 9 and sent to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa — represents a growing body of officials, predominantly from past Democratic administrations, backing the Biden nominee.

The officials say Jackson has "extraordinary" academic credentials and is "well-steeped in the law." They argue she would "emulate" the "principled pragmatism" of Justice Stephen Breyer, who she has been chosen to replace.

The letter comes as Jackson has made the rounds on Capitol Hill to speak with senators. She met this week with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, two centrists who hold pivotal votes on her nomination.

"She's a very accomplished person," Manchin said Thursday, one day after he met with Jackson for more than an hour, adding that he is still vetting her but hasn't seen red flags.

"She's had over 500 opinions, we looked at all of those and a wide range of things. And the thing that I was most impressed, I didn't see her trying to interpret the laws we create. That's pretty important," he said.

Collins, who met with Manchin on Tuesday, said it "went well."

"It's clear that her credentials and the breadth of her experience are impressive. She has been a law clerk, a public defender an attorney in private practice, a member of the Sentencing Commission, a district court judge for more than eight years. And now a circuit court judge," she told reporters afterward. "I will, of course, await the hearings before the judiciary committee before making a decision, but I found today's session to be very helpful."

Jackson's hearings are set to begin on March 21. She needs the support of 50 senators to be confirmed. Democrats control the Senate by a margin of 50-50.