The Real Reason Lindsey Graham Stormed Out Of Ketanji Brown Jackson's SCOTUS Hearing
Aside from the POTUS, billionaires, and D.C. lobbyists, the power in the USA lies in the Supreme Court — just as James Madison intended when he drafted the Constitution. "The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court," article III states. The Supreme Court was created to protect citizens against the abuse of power — separating who makes laws, who enforces them, and who decides the outcome if they're alleged to be broken.
The Supreme Court trumps the President and their appointed administration in the power stakes. So, it's no shock Commanders-in-Chief are eager to include as many sympathetic political ideologists as possible within the mighty nine. It's why Democrats fought so hard against the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh — well, the multiple sexual assault allegations against him, per The Washington Post, may have also played a part. It's why Mitch McConnel decreed Obama couldn't nominate Antonin Scalia's replacement, during his last year in office — despite George W. Bush nominating Harriett Myers (who subsequently declined) just weeks before the end of his first term.
As the American Bar Association reports, it's why Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett following Ruth Bader Ginsberg's death — tipping the Supreme Court balance heavily towards the conservative religious right. There's a good chance that's why Joe Biden's nominated replacement for Stephen G. Breyer has Republicans so upset, as evidenced by Lindsey Graham storming out of Ketanji Brown Jackson's SCOTUS hearing.
Lindsey Graham's Guantanamo tantrum
Joe Biden's nominated replacement for Stephen G. Breyer would be the first Black female Supreme Court judge — adding diversity to the majority male (6-3) and majority-white (7-2) group. Per The White House, Ketanji Brown Jackson "is one of our nation's brightest legal minds and has an unusual breadth of experience." However, per the New York Post, Republicans are not happy about the nomination.
Lindsey Graham has taken particular umbrage. The South Carolina senator attacked Jackson over defending Guantanamo Bay detainees while she was a public defender, and claimed that people who think the Constitution is "trash" support Jackson's nomination. Graham vowed he wouldn't care if every Gitmo prisoner dropped dead "without trial" — apparently showing a disregard for the 14th amendment right of due process. But, according to the Daily Beast, he really flew into a fury after being schooled by Dick Durbin over Guantanamo.
When Graham began throwing out "alternative facts" to support his decree that Gitmo should never close — such as claiming the recidivism rate was sky high — Durbin interceded. He calmly pointed out it costs "$12 – $13 million per year" to hold each of the 39 detainees – and the recidivism rate was, actually, five percent. "If it cost $500 million to keep them in jail, keep them in jail because they'll go back to the fight," Graham shouted. "This whole thing by the left about this war ain't working!" At this point, exited stage right.