MAGA GOP Wants Mitt Romney Replaced for Backing Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson
Newsweek
4/5/2022
© Drew Angerer/Alex Wong/Getty Images
Mitt Romney said he will vote to confirm President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson.
A number of Republican figures have criticized Utah Senator Mitt Romney after he said he would be voting to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
Romney joined fellow GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins in announcing that he will be giving his support for Jackson to become the first Black female justice.
The bipartisan support Jackson is getting in the split 50-50 Senate means that President Joe Biden's pick for the bench is all but certain to be confirmed.
"After reviewing Judge Jackson's record and testimony, I have concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor," Romney said in a statement on Monday.
"While I do not expect to agree with every decision she may make on the Court, I believe that she more than meets the standard of excellence and integrity. I congratulate Judge Jackson on her expected confirmation and look forward to her continued service to our nation."
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Critic of Donald Trump
In response, a number of conservative figures have hit out at Romney, a frequent critic of Donald Trump who was the only Republican who voted to convict the former president at both of his impeachment trials, for siding with the Democrats over Jackson's election to the Supreme Court.
A number of people suggested on social media that the so-called "RINO" [Republican in name only] Romney should leave the GOP, or be voted out of office.
Donald Trump Jr., the former president's eldest child, tweeted: "If you're mad at RINOs like Mitt Romney & Lisa Murkowski for caving to the left on KBJ, don't just complain, make them pay at the ballot box."
Tim Swain, a Republican running for the Senate in South Carolina, said: "Romney and Murkowski must be voted out!"
"Mitt Romney can vote for KBJ but won't endorse Mike Lee. He is a disgrace to the conservative movement," Swain added, in reference to the Utah Senator who is also up for re-election this year and who has the support of Trump.
Right-wing pundit Benny Johnson added: "Utah should recall Mitt Romney" following the Senator's announcement. Johnson made the claim despite Utah being one of the U.S. states that doesn't have recalls on state or local level.
Elsewhere, a number of other GOP figures repeated a line of attack spearheaded during Jackson's confirmation hearing by Senator Josh Hawley claiming the judge is lenient in sentencing child sex offenders in order to condemn Romney for voting for her.
Fact checkers at the Associated Press, The Washington Postand The New York Times all ruled the claims as misleading given that Jackson's sentencing for child sex offenders frequently met probation recommendations or guidelines.
The claims against Jackson have also been used as a dog whistle to rile up supporters of the radical QAnon conspiracy theory, according to some reports. Followers of the conspiracy believe in the existence of a high-profile cabal of satanic child abusers.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was long associated with the extremist movement, tweeted: "Murkowski, Collins, and Romney are pro-pedophile. They just voted for KBJ."
Strong Criticism
Conservative talk show host Joe Pagliarulo wrote while sharing Romney's statement: "He's a perpetual liar. He's cool with a SCOTUS justice being easy on pedos and those dealing in child pornography. He's cool with someone vehemently pro-abortion. Mitt Romney is a joke. Utah—do better."
Brigitte Gabriel, author and founder of the anti-Muslim group ACT for America, added: "A vote in support of Ketanji Brown Jackson is a vote in support of lenient sentencing for pedophiles. This vote needs to haunt Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski in future elections."
However, Olivia Troye, a former White House official who worked as an aide for Vice President Mike Pence, spoke out against the condemnation that Romney has received for supporting Jackson and the attempts to smear the judge with misleading claims about her being "pro-pedophile."
"If there was ever any doubt that GOP Senators Cruz, Hawley, Lee, etc., purposely misled Americans & blew the Q'Anon dog whistle during Judge Jackson's nomination hearing to stir up their base, just take a look at the comments in response to Mitt Romney's tweet supporting her," Troye tweeted.
Romney has been contacted for comment.
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