(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) — The Alabama legislature has passed two bills focusing on transgender youth: SB 184, which would ban gender-affirming care, and HB 322, which would ban trans students from using bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. HB 322 also limits LGBTQ content in classrooms due to a last-minute amendment.
SB 184, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, states that anyone who provides gender-affirming care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy or physical gender-affirming surgeries — to anyone under 18 could be convicted of a felony and face up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Several Alabama physicians has said the legislation is riddled with misinformation about how gender-affirming care actually affects children.
“When lawmakers attempt to practice medicine with a life without a license, they realize quickly that there was a lot more they didn’t understand than what they thought they did,” Morissa Ladinsky, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, previously told ABC News.
For instance, the bill would ban minors from receiving gender-affirming “surgical procedures,” but in Alabama, such surgeries aren’t allowed until a patient reaches the age of legal majority for medical decisions, which is 19.
The legislation also makes the claim that puberty blockers can cause infertility or other health risks. According to Ladinsky, these potential side effects only present real risks after puberty and are not a risk to youth taking puberty blockers.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Shay Shelnutt, has called gender-affirming health care “child abuse.”
“We don’t want parents to be abusing their children. We don’t want to make that an option, because that’s what it is; it’s child abuse. This is just to protect children,” Shelnutt said Feb. 23 on the state Senate floor.
Courtney Roark, the Alabama policy & movement building director for the youth-led reproductive rights nonprofit URGE, slammed the bill’s passage as an attack on bodily autonomy for trans youth and their families.
“In yet another attack on our bodies, our autonomy, and our desire to live happy and healthy lives, Alabama politicians have passed and signed into law a bill that would criminalize doctors, principals, teachers, school counselors and nurses for providing gender-affirming care and support to trans and non-binary youth,” Roark said. “Trans and non-binary youth in our state and across the country already face extraordinary barriers to accessing the liberated and joyous lives they deserve.”
HB 322 would require students in public K-12 schools to only use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their assigned sex at birth.
Alabama state Rep. Scott Stadthagen, the sponsor of the bill, said the bill does not target transgender students.
“Almost every school district in this state is dealing with this issue with opposite genders wanting to use opposite bathrooms,” Stadthagen has said in debate. “I find this to be a safety issue. It is for protection of our students.”
An amendment to this bill would also prohibit classroom instruction or discussion on sexual orientation or gender identity for students in kindergarten through the fifth grade in public K-12 schools. The language mirrors the controversial so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bills popping up across the country.
LGBTQ suicide awareness group The Trevor Project condemned the passage of such bills.
“On likely the last day of Alabama’s legislative session, lawmakers have added last-minute votes to push the most extreme anti-transgender agenda we’ve seen to date — all within a matter of hours,” said Sam Ames, director of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project.
“These policies are not only cruel and unnecessary, they are unpopular among a majority of Americans,” they continued. “Criminalizing doctors, isolating trans youth from their support systems and stigmatizing conversations around LGBTQ identity will only fuel more bullying, anxiety and suicide risk among these youth.”
(WASHINGTON) — With masks no longer required and mitigation measures seen by some as a thing of the past, a coronavirus resurgence is spreading among the tight circles of the Washington elite.
On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the latest high-profile Washington dignitary to test positive for COVID-19.
Pelosi, 82, is currently asymptomatic, according to a spokesperson for her office.
“The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided,” the spokesperson said Thursday. She said Pelosi received her second booster shot last month.
Pelosi’s positive test comes amid a flurry of other positive cases among individuals who attended the elite Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington on Saturday.
As of midday Thursday, at least 32 guests at Saturday’s dinner have tested positive for COVID-19, Tom DeFrank, the president of the Gridiron Club, told ABC News.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Jamal Simmons, the communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris, were among the guests at the dinner who announced this week that they have tested positive.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, one of two Republican lawmakers to attend the dinner, also announced late Thursday she tested positive.
“Senator Collins has tested positive for COVID-19 and is currently experiencing mild symptoms. The Senator will isolate and work remotely in accordance with CDC guidelines,” a statement from her office said.
Although some attendees were wearing face coverings, most guests were not wearing masks, DeFrank said.
In recent weeks, a growing number of positive COVID-19 infections have also affected members of President Joe Biden’s inner circle, with the White House acknowledging many close calls following meetings or events with individuals who subsequently tested positive.
Pelosi attended an event at the White House on Tuesday where she interacted with former President Barack Obama, who tested positive last month, as well as Biden. She also attended an event at the White House Wednesday where she again interacted with Biden. She was maskless at both events, as were other attendees.
Asked about Biden’s contact with Pelosi, White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Thursday said Biden tested negative on Wednesday night and insisted Biden wasn’t a CDC “close contact” because they weren’t within six feet for 15 minutes.
Among those close to Biden who have tested positive is his sister, Valerie Biden Owen, who also attended the dinner Saturday. She is experiencing mild symptoms, her publisher said in a statement on Thursday.
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., who attended the Tuesday event with Biden and Harris, announced she tested positive Thursday and was experiencing mild symptoms.
Psaki, who recently tested positive for a second time, told reporters on Wednesday that the White House continues to take “stringent” and “strict” protocols to protect the president from potential infection.
“We take additional measures that go beyond what the C.D.C. protocols and requirements are to ensure that we are doing everything we can to keep the principals safe, the president, the vice president and others in the building,” Psaki said.
When asked by ABC News whether the White House plans to test the president daily in the coming weeks, given the uptick in COVID-19 cases seen across Washington, Psaki said that such measures have “not deemed to be necessary at this point.”
The vice president also had brushes with the virus in recent weeks. In addition to Simmons testing positive this week, her husband Doug Emhoff contracted the virus in mid-March.
Harris will follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends that individuals who are up to date on their vaccinations get tested at least five days after interacting with someone with COVID-19, according to her office. As no quarantine is needed, she will continue with her public schedule.
Separately, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser joined the growing list of those infected with COVID-19, tweeting on Thursday morning that she had tested positive for the virus.
The mayor said she is experiencing “allergy-like symptoms.”
The District of Columbia in February officially ended its district-wide mask mandate. The White House and the U.S. Capitol quickly followed suit to make face coverings optional.
The district is currently at a “low” community level for COVID-19, per CDC standards.
ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Justin Gomez, and Mariam Khan contributed to this report.
(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Ten people were shot in a terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday night, according to authorities.
All of the victims were taken to Ichilov Hospital, with at least two in critical condition, according to the hospital and Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service.
The emergency service said two of the victims were found unconscious on the sidewalk and underwent resuscitation, while four others taken to the hospital were conscious when medical personnel arrived at the scene.
Several other people at the scene were being treated for “stress symptoms,” according to Magen David Adom.
A gunmen has not been apprehended. Israeli police said they are searching for a single suspect.
Officials said “several” shootings took place at Dizengoff Street, Gordon Street and surrounding areas in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Street is a major street that runs through Tel Aviv and has many shops, bars and restaurants and would have been bustling with activity on a Thursday night.
The attack Thursday is one of several recent terror attacks in Israel. There were three fatal terror attacks at the end of March. On March 30, five people were shot to death in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, by a man on a motorcycle who was later killed by police. One of the victims was a police officer, according to Magen David Adom.
Two days earlier, on March 28, two police officers were shot to death and four others were wounded in an attack. Then, a week prior, four people were killed in a stabbing attack in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. The suspect was shot dead.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
“Horrified to see another cowardly terror attack on innocent civilians, this time in Tel Aviv,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides wrote on Twitter. “Praying for peace, and sending condolences to the victims and their families. This has to stop!”
ABC News’ Jason Volack, Christine Theodorou and Bruno Nota contributed to this report.
(TEL AVIV, Israel) — Six people were shot in a terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Thursday night, according to authorities.
Two people were taken to Ichilov Hospital in critical condition, one was conscious but in serious condition and three others were in moderate condition, according to Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency medical service.
The emergency service said two of the victims were found unconscious on the sidewalk and underwent resuscitation, while the four others taken to the hospital were conscious when medical personnel arrived at the scene.
Several other people at the scene were being treated for “stress symptoms,” according to Magen David Adom.
A gunmen has not been apprehended.
Officials said “several” shootings took place at Dizengoff Street, Gordon Street and surrounding areas in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff Street is a major street that runs through Tel Aviv and has many shops, bars and restaurants and would have been bustling with activity on a Thursday night.
The attack Thursday is one of several recent terror attacks in Israel. There were three fatal terror attacks at the end of March. On March 30, five people were shot to death in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, by a man on a motorcycle who was later killed by police. One of the victims was a police officer, according to Magen David Adom.
Two days earlier, on March 28, two police officers were shot to death and four others were wounded in an attack. Then, a week prior, four people were killed in a stabbing attack in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. The suspect was shot dead.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
(NEW YORK) — Former President Donald Trump should be held in contempt for failing to respond to a subpoena as instructed, the New York Attorney General’s office said Thursday in a new court filing.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also asked the judge to impose a daily $10,000 fine until Trump complies.
The subpoena, issued as part of James’ civil investigation into the way Trump values his real estate portfolio, sought personal documents from Trump, including tax records and statements of financial condition. The original deadline of March 3 was pushed to March 31 after Trump asked for an extension.
“The judge’s order was crystal clear: Donald J. Trump must comply with our subpoena and turn over relevant documents to my office,” James said in a statement.
Trump raised new objections to the document requests on March 31, which James’ office said is impermissible.
“This Court’s order was not an opening bid for a negotiation or an invitation for a new round of challenges to the subpoena. It was, rather, a court order entered after full briefing and argument during which Mr. Trump could have, but did not, raise any of the purported objections or assertions he has now raised,” the attorney general’s motion said.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately respond to Thursday’s filing.
Trump has asked a state appellate court to quash a separate subpoena that required him and his two eldest children to sit for depositions, arguing, in part, that the subpoenas result from an investigation driven by James’ political animus. James’ office rejected the claim.
Trump’s former personal attorney and fixer Michael Cohen testified before Congress in 2019 that the former president valued his real estate holdings differently depending on whether he was seeking loans or tax deductions.
Cohen provided the House Oversight Committee with copies of Trump’s financial statements that he said misrepresented the values of Trump assets to obtain favorable terms for loans and insurance.
Trump and his children have denied any wrongdoing.
(NEW YORK) — Chris Smalls was fired from his Amazon warehouse job in 2020, after leading a protest over fears working conditions could lead to a coronavirus outbreak at the Staten Island, New York, facility.
Now, Smalls has a new job: president of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU).
Smalls’ Amazon story begins in 2018, when he says he helped open the New York warehouse while employed as a supervisor for the online retailer. That’s when he founded the ALU, bringing together a scrappy group of former and current warehouse workers.
It was that Staten Island group that made history on April 1, after going head-to-head with Amazon in a union vote, and winning. This marked the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant’s history.
“After I was terminated, they had a meeting about me – [Amazon founder] Jeff Bezos, and the general counsel — calling me not smart or articulate,” Smalls said in an interview on ABC News Live April 6. “And, ironically, they also said to make me the face of the whole unionization efforts.”
Following his termination, Smalls traveled across the country, protesting and advocating for workers’ rights. He said his mission was to educate Amazon workers on the benefits of unionizing, in hopes of encouraging them to fight for a change at their warehouses, too.
After months on the road, Smalls returned to New York, to finish the job of unionizing the Staten Island warehouse.
“We live the reality of the warehouse lifestyle. And we felt that this was the best way to go to try to unionize Amazon and it absolutely worked for us,” said Smalls, remembering the countless protests and walk-outs he’s participated in over the last two years.
Warehouse workers cast 2,654 votes in favor of a union, giving the fledging Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory. According to the National Labor Relations Board, which is overseeing the process, 2,131 workers rejected the union bid.
“We’re fortunate enough to have enough to win, but I think it would be a lot higher had Amazon not been able to spend millions of dollars trying to stop this campaign,” Smalls told ABC News Live.
Sixty-seven ballots were challenged by Amazon or the ALU, which wasn’t enough to affect the outcome of the vote. About 57% of the more than 8,300 workers on the voter list cast their ballot.
Despite victory in the union vote, Smalls blames Amazon for the overall results, saying the winning percentage would have been higher if the corporation hadn’t discouraged the unionization among employees.
“Amazon spends millions of dollars on union busting; they put these workers into captive audiences 24/7. Workers go to these trainings where there’s drilled anti-union propaganda all day and all night,” Smalls claimed.
Amazon did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on Smalls’ claims.
After the historic union vote, Amazon posted the following statement on its website: “We’re disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees. We’re evaluating our options, including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB that we and others (including the National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce) witnessed in this election.”
Smalls responded to the statement during his interview with ABC News Live, saying “the workers spoke for themselves.”
“To be disappointed that their own workers voted yes is utterly ridiculous if you asked me. And the workers said that they want a union and they voted in that favor, and that they should just acknowledge that, and accept that, and recognize the union in Staten Island,” Smalls added.
Since the vote on April 1, Smalls said he’s heard from Amazon workers across the U.S., asking for help with organizing a union at their warehouses. But right now, the ALU has its hands full with the New York warehouse and a neighboring facility slated to have a separate union election later this month.
The ALU is also preparing for a challenging negotiation process for a labor contract. The group has demanded Amazon officials come to the table in early May, but experts say the retail giant, which has signaled plans to challenge the election, could stall the process.
(WASHINGTON) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in its 233-year history, is poised for Senate confirmation on Thursday afternoon.
She is expected to secure at least three Republican votes, marking a bipartisan victory for President Joe Biden’s high court nominee.
Here is how the news is developing Thursday. Check back for updates:
As the confirmation vote nears, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who presided over Jackson’s confirmation hearings, called her ascension to the high court “a glass shattering achievement for America.”
“Today, the members of this Senate have the opportunity to take a monumental step forward. We will vote to confirm a once in a generation legal talent, a jurist with outstanding credentials and a lifetime of experience and the first-ever African American woman to serve as Justice of the Supreme Court,” Durbin said.
Durbin briefly walked the Senate through some of the struggles African Americans and women have faced in this country, asking senators to consider that when the Supreme Court first met in the Capitol building in February of 1801, there were one million slaves in a nation of five million people.
“Women had no place in that first Supreme Court chamber, and Black women would only enter to clean it in the dark of night,” he said. “We know what followed. Americans battled in slavery, saw a bloody civil war, decades of efforts to break down racial barriers — and the efforts continue to this day.”
But with Jackson’s nomination, Durbin said millions of Americans will see themselves represented in her.
“This confirmation of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court honors the history that has come before it It honors the struggles of the past of the men and women who waged them. And this confirmation draws America one step closer one step to healing our nation,” he said.
Apr 07, 1:20 pm
Warnock highlights Georgia’s role in Jackson’s confirmation
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who was elected to the Senate last January in a special election, highlighted the impact of Georgia voters on Jackson’s expected confirmation and thanked them from the Senate floor Thursday.
“The people of Georgia made this appointment possible by making history last year,” said Warnock.
Because Supreme Court nominations require only a simple majority of 51 votes, Democrats taking control of Georgia’s two Senate seats last year — allowing them 50 seats and Vice President Kamala Harris as a tie-breaking vote — was essential to Biden’s ability to get a nominee confirmed.
Warnock said his office has received thousands of emails and phone calls from Georgians in every corner of the state voicing their support for Jackson’s confirmation and echoing Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said of Jackson’s nomination: “Nobody’s going to steal my joy.”
“Yes, I’m a senator, I’m a pastor, but beyond all of that, I’m the father of a young Black girl. I know how much it means for Judge Jackson to have navigated the double jeopardy of racism and sexism to now stand in the glory of this moment in all of her excellence,” he said. “For my five-year-old daughter and for so many young women in this country — but, really, if we’re thinking about it right, for all of us — seeing Judge Jackson ascend to the Supreme Court reflects the promise of progress on which our democracy rests.”
Apr 07, 1:11 pm
‘History will remember the votes cast here today’: Leahy
With limited debate ahead, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., took to the Senate floor to praise Jackson as one of the most qualified nominees he’s ever considered in his 48 years in the Senate and scolded lawmakers for a process he said has been corroded with partisan politics.
“It’s distressing, it’s disheartening and as a dean of the Senate, it is saddening,” Leahy said.
Leahy has participated in 21 Supreme Court confirmation processes, more than any other sitting senator.
“I’ve long lamented the increase in political gamesmanship packed in our current confirmation process. And many times on this floor I’ve warned about the dire consequences for our courts and for our democracy at converting our confirmation process into a zero-sum game where one party wins and one party loses,” he said, noting that he’s more than once voted for Republican judicial nominees.
“To change that game simply requires we have some adults in the room,” he said. “We all come here for the United States not to score, headlines or trending tweets, but simply to do our jobs.”
Turning back to Biden’s nominee, Leahy said Jackson is “the justice we need now — for the generations to come for our children or grandchildren. For all of us.”
“History will remember the votes cast here today,” he added.
Apr 07, 12:35 pm
Jackson clears key test vote
The Senate has voted 53-47 to limit debate on Judge Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, paving the way for a final confirmation vote later in the afternoon.
A beaming Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who praised Jackson as “worthy” in an emotional soliloquy during her confirmation hearings, presided over the Senate chamber for the cloture vote.
Because the Senate filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominations was modified by Senate Republicans in 2017, Judge Jackson’s nomination requires only a simple majority, or 51 senators, in both votes Thursday.
Since her formal nomination 42 days ago, Jackson held one-on-one meetings with 97 senators on Capitol Hill, according to the White House.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Apr 07, 12:34 pm
Harris to preside over confirmation vote
Vice President Kamala Harris will head to the Capitol later Thursday to preside over the Senate for Judge Jackson’s historic confirmation vote.
“This afternoon, with the United States Senate poised to make history by voting for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the United States Supreme Court, the Vice President will travel to the U.S. Capitol. The Vice President believes Judge Jackson will be an exceptional Supreme Court Justice, and she looks forward to presiding over the Senate to mark this important moment,” the White House said in a statement.
Harris, the nation’s first Black and first female vice president, will announce the final vote for Jackson, the first Black woman to be considered to the Supreme Court and, if confirmed, to sit on the high bench in its 233-year history.
Jackson is expected to watch final speeches and the roll call vote with her family in Washington.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Apr 07, 11:39 am
McConnell casts ‘judicial activism’ as threat to court
Just hours ahead of Judge Jackson’s expected Senate confirmation, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted what he called “judicial activism” as a threat to the court as an institution in remarks on the Senate floor.
“We’ve seen over and over that when judicial activism triumphs over fidelity to the rule of law, our courts mutate into clumsy proxy battlefields for arguments that belong in this chamber,” McConnell said, as Republicans have attempted to characterize Jackson as sympathetic to progressive causes.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, April 5, 2022. Earlier, three Republican senators broke from their party to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination to the Supreme Court.
The GOP leader, again, slammed Jackson for failing to commit to opposing the Supreme Court’s expansion when she was asked about her views of court-packing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The solution is for all the justices to stay in their lane. There is one right number of justices who seek to follow the law. The number is nine. Ginsburg said it. Breyer said it. There is one right number of judges who seek to make policy,” McConnell said.
Notably, Jackson, in her confirmation hearings, repeated variations of the message that she intends to “stay in my lane,” if confirmed to the high court.
McConnell conceded Thursday that Jackson is barreling towards confirmation and pledged that Republicans will recognize her legitimacy as a justice — seemingly needling Democrats for their handling of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
“Nevertheless, our Democratic colleagues are on track to confirm our next supreme Court justice,” McConnell said. “And you know what won’t happen: Top Republicans will not imply she is illegitimate we will not call for court-packing I won’t be joining any mobs outside her new workplace and threatening her by name.”
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Apr 07, 11:04 am
Schumer praises Jackson’s place in history ahead of key vote
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the vote to end debate on Judge Jackson’s nomination is on track for the 11 a.m. hour ahead of the historic confirmation vote around 1:45 p.m.
“The Senate gavels in this morning for a joyous, momentous, groundbreaking day,” Schumer said from the Senate chamber. “This morning, we will vote to end debate on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a justice on the United States Supreme Court. And later this afternoon, the Senate will fulfill its constitutional duty to finally confirm this remarkable and groundbreaking jurist.”
Schumer praised Jackson as encapsulating the “three Bs” — brilliant, beloved and belonging on the Supreme Court — and said the nation is long overdue to have a Black woman sit on the high bench.
“In the 233-year history of the Supreme Court never, never has a Black woman held the title of justice. Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first, and I believe the first of more to come,” Schumer said.
“This milestone should have happened generations ago,” he added, “but we are always trotting on a path towards a more perfect union.”
“Nevertheless, America today is taking a giant step towards making our union more perfect. People sometimes talk about standing on the shoulder of giants. Well, Judge Jackson will go down in history as an American giant upon whose shoulders others will stand tall — and our democracy will be better off for it.”
(NEW YORK) — The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday voted to pass a resolution to suspend Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council Thursday, in response to Russian forces’ alleged killings of civilians in Ukraine.
The vote passed with 93 countries voting in favor, 24 voting against and 58 abstaining from voting. Belarus, China, Iran, Russia and Syria were among the countries who voted against the resolution.
The vote came amid global outrage over the alleged killings of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, after Russian forces withdrew from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
The UNGA needed a two-thirds majority to suspend Russia, now the second country ever suspended after the UNGA voted to remove Libya from the Human Rights Council in 2011 in response to Moammar Gadhafi’s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters.
In a speech prior to the vote, a Ukrainian representative urged the assembly to remove Russia from the council.
“Suspension of Russia from the human rights council is not an option, but a duty,” Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the United Nations, said.
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told CNN on Wednesday that they “absolutely” have the votes to suspend Russia.
“We have been working very, very hard since this war started to build a coalition of countries who are prepared to condemn Russia. We got 141 votes, the first time we went into the General Assembly. The second time we got 140. And I have no doubt that we can defeat Russia here on the Human Rights Council,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
She added: “They don’t deserve to be on the Human Rights Council.”
(WASHINGTON) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in its 233-year history, is poised for Senate confirmation on Thursday afternoon.
She is expected to secure at least three Republican votes, marking a bipartisan victory for President Joe Biden’s high court nominee.
Here is how the news is developing Thursday. Check back for updates:
Apr 07, 12:35 pm
Jackson clears key test vote
The Senate has voted 53-47 to limit debate on Judge Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, paving the way for a final confirmation vote later in the afternoon.
A beaming Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who praised Jackson as “worthy” in an emotional soliloquy during her confirmation hearings, presided over the Senate chamber for the cloture vote.
Because the Senate filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominations was modified by Senate Republicans in 2017, Judge Jackson’s nomination requires only a simple majority, or 51 senators, in both votes Thursday.
Since her formal nomination 42 days ago, Jackson held one-on-one meetings with 97 senators on Capitol Hill, according to the White House.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Apr 07, 12:34 pm
Harris to preside over confirmation vote
Vice President Kamala Harris will head to the Capitol later Thursday to preside over the Senate for Judge Jackson’s historic confirmation vote.
“This afternoon, with the United States Senate poised to make history by voting for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the United States Supreme Court, the Vice President will travel to the U.S. Capitol. The Vice President believes Judge Jackson will be an exceptional Supreme Court Justice, and she looks forward to presiding over the Senate to mark this important moment,” the White House said in a statement.
Harris, the nation’s first Black and first female vice president, will announce the final vote for Jackson, the first Black woman to be considered to the Supreme Court and, if confirmed, to sit on the high bench in its 233-year history.
Jackson is expected to watch final speeches and the roll call vote with her family in Washington.
-ABC News’ Devin Dwyer
Apr 07, 11:39 am
McConnell casts ‘judicial activism’ as threat to court
Just hours ahead of Judge Jackson’s expected Senate confirmation, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted what he called “judicial activism” as a threat to the court as an institution in remarks on the Senate floor.
“We’ve seen over and over that when judicial activism triumphs over fidelity to the rule of law, our courts mutate into clumsy proxy battlefields for arguments that belong in this chamber,” McConnell said, as Republicans have attempted to characterize Jackson as sympathetic to progressive causes.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell meets with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, April 5, 2022. Earlier, three Republican senators broke from their party to support Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic nomination to the Supreme Court.
The GOP leader, again, slammed Jackson for failing to commit to opposing the Supreme Court’s expansion when she was asked about her views of court-packing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The solution is for all the justices to stay in their lane. There is one right number of justices who seek to follow the law. The number is nine. Ginsburg said it. Breyer said it. There is one right number of judges who seek to make policy,” McConnell said.
Notably, Jackson, in her confirmation hearings, repeated variations of the message that she intends to “stay in my lane,” if confirmed to the high court.
McConnell conceded Thursday that Jackson is barreling towards confirmation and pledged that Republicans will recognize her legitimacy as a justice — seemingly needling Democrats for their handling of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination.
“Nevertheless, our Democratic colleagues are on track to confirm our next supreme Court justice,” McConnell said. “And you know what won’t happen: Top Republicans will not imply she is illegitimate we will not call for court-packing I won’t be joining any mobs outside her new workplace and threatening her by name.”
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin
Apr 07, 11:04 am
Schumer praises Jackson’s place in history ahead of key vote
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the vote to end debate on Judge Jackson’s nomination is on track for the 11 a.m. hour ahead of the historic confirmation vote around 1:45 p.m.
“The Senate gavels in this morning for a joyous, momentous, groundbreaking day,” Schumer said from the Senate chamber. “This morning, we will vote to end debate on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be a justice on the United States Supreme Court. And later this afternoon, the Senate will fulfill its constitutional duty to finally confirm this remarkable and groundbreaking jurist.”
Schumer praised Jackson as encapsulating the “three Bs” — brilliant, beloved and belonging on the Supreme Court — and said the nation is long overdue to have a Black woman sit on the high bench.
“In the 233-year history of the Supreme Court never, never has a Black woman held the title of justice. Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first, and I believe the first of more to come,” Schumer said.
“This milestone should have happened generations ago,” he added, “but we are always trotting on a path towards a more perfect union.”
“Nevertheless, America today is taking a giant step towards making our union more perfect. People sometimes talk about standing on the shoulder of giants. Well, Judge Jackson will go down in history as an American giant upon whose shoulders others will stand tall — and our democracy will be better off for it.”
(WASHINGTON) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tested positive for COVID-19, her deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill tweeted Thursday.
This positive test comes after testing negative earlier in the week, Hammill said.
Pelosi on Wednesday tweeted a photo of her next to President Joe Biden.
Pelosi, 82, is vaccinated and boosted and does not have any symptoms, he said.
Pelosi is second in line to the presidency after the vice president.
Other Washington officials to test positive this week include Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.
Hammill added on Twitter that a planned congressional delegation to Asia, led by Pelosi, will be postponed.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
