Politics

(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin got into a fiery exchange with Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz during a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing Tuesday, as Gaetz accused the Pentagon of strategic failures due to misplaced focus on alleged “wokeism.”

Gaetz began by asking Austin why taxpayers should fund lectures supporting socialism at the DOD-funded National Defense University, a reference to a recent virtual event hosted by the school titled “Responding to China: The Case For Global Justice and Democratic Socialism,” presented by French economist Thomas Piketty.

Austin said he was unaware of the lecture.

“So now that you know that they did this, would you agree that embracing socialism is not an effective strategy to combat China?” Gatez asked.

“I certainly don’t agree with embracing socialism,” Austin replied.

Gaetz continued, asking, “So why would we invite people we don’t agree with to evangelize views and values that we don’t share at the National Defense University, when we should be learning strategy about how to combat our enemies and make assessments that are accurate?”

Austin responded that learning strategy and other relevant subjects is the focus of military universities.

Decorum began to crumble as the two men started talking over one another, Gaetz reiterating the controversial content of the lecture, Austin reiterating that the Pentagon does not embrace socialism.

“I control the time!” Gaetz protested.

The Florida congressman proceeded to accuse the Defense Department of making poor predictions about the invasion of Ukraine and the fall of Afghanistan.

“You guys told us that Russia couldn’t lose. You told us that the Taliban couldn’t immediately win. And so I guess I’m wondering what in the $773 billion that you’re requesting today is going to help you make assessments that are accurate in the face of so many blown calls.

Austin paused for nearly six seconds before responding.

“You’ve seen what’s in our budget, you’ve seen how the budget matches the strategy, and so I’ll let that speak for itself,” he said.

The secretary then grew visibly annoyed when Gaetz said the U.S. has fallen behind other countries in terms of hypersonic weapons.

“What do you mean we’re behind in hypersonics? How do you make that assessment?” Austin said.

“Your own people brief us that we are behind and that China is winning. Are you aware of the briefings we get on hypersonics?” Gaetz asked.

Austin responded, “I am certainly aware of briefings that we provide to Congress.”

MORE: China’s reported hypersonic weapon test raises security concerns
Gaetz again attacked the Pentagon’s priorities.

“While everyone else in the world seems to be developing capabilities and being more strategic, we’ve got time to embrace critical race theory at West Point, to embrace socialism at the National Defense University, to do mandatory pronoun training,” he said.

Austin fired back: “This is the most capable, the most combat-credible force in the world. It has been and it will be so going forward. And this budget helps us to do that.”

“Not if we embrace socialism,” Gaetz said.

Austin then implied Gaetz was being unpatriotic.

“The fact that you are embarrassed by your country, by your military, I am sorry for that,” Austin said.

Gaetz retorted as Austin was still speaking: “Oh no, no, I’m embarrassed by your leadership, I am not embarrassed for my country.”

“It’s what you’re saying, it’s what you’re saying,” Austin said.

“I wish we were not losing to China … That is so disgraceful that you would sit here and conflate your failures with the failures of the uniformed service members. You guys said that Russia would overrun Ukraine in 36 days. You said that the Taliban would be kept at bay for months. You totally blew those calls. And maybe we would be better at them if the National Defense University actually worked a little more on strategy and a little less on wokeism,” Gaetz said.

“Has it occurred to you that Russia has not overrun Ukraine because of what we’ve done and our allies have done? Have you ever even thought about that?” Austin said.

Gaetz used his remaining seconds to reply: “But that was baked into your flawed assessment. And so I saw that the Obama administration tried to destroy our military by starving it of resources, and it seems the Biden administration is trying to destroy our military by force feeding it wokeism. I yield back.”

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(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) — Oklahoma passed a bill Tuesday that would make performing an abortion a felony, punishable by up to several years in prison.

The bill was passed in the state House 70-14 without a single Democratic vote after passing the Senate last year. Just one Republican state representative voted against the bill.

It is now heading to the desk of Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, who is expected to sign it into law.

Under the bill, any medical provider who performs an abortion would face a fine of $100,000 and up to 10 years in prison. The only exceptions for performing an abortion would be if the mother’s life is in danger.

State Rep. Jim Olsen, who sponsored the bill, did not return ABC News’ request for comment.

However, he did stress to the Associated Press that penalties would only be imposed on medical professionals who perform abortions, not on women who receive them.

Passage of the bill occurred the same day a “Bans Off Oklahoma” rally was held at the state Capitol in support of abortion rights.

“These legislators have continued their relentless attacks on our freedoms,” Emily Wales, interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes — which organized the rally — told the Associated Press. “These restrictions are not about improving the safety of the work that we do. They are about shaming and stigmatizing people who need and deserve abortion access.”

In the past few years, anti-abortion bills have passed in Oklahoma Legislature, only to be overturned by the courts who deem them unconstitutional.

It’s unclear whether this bill will face the same challenges, but it comes on the heels of several Republican-led states passing legislation ahead of a Supreme Court decision in June that will decide the future of Roe v. Wade.

The court will review a 15-week ban in Mississippi and decide whether or not it is constitutional.

In preparation for Roe to be overturned, or gutted, Arizona and Kentucky moved forward on 15-week abortion bans last week.

The Arizona legislation, which was signed by Gov. Doug Ducey, only includes exemptions for medical emergencies when continuing with the pregnancy would “create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function” for the mother.

Meanwhile, in Kentucky, the ban passed along with other anti-abortion measures including making it illegal to send drugs for medical abortions through the mail and requiring the names of physicians who provide medication abortions to be published online.

Additionally, last month, Idaho became the first state to pass and sign legislation modeled after the recent law passed in Texas that bans abortions after six weeks.

Since the law in Texas went into effect in September 2021, thousands of women have flocked to Oklahoma to receive the procedure.

A recent study from the Texas Policy Evaluation Project at the University of Texas Austin found that of the 1,500 women that traveled out of state every month to receive abortion since September, 45% visited Oklahoma.

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(WASHINGTON) — Three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah — have taken the political risk of breaking from their party to vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the Supreme Court this week, elevating the first Black woman to the nation’s highest court in its 233-year history.

Democrats on Monday were able to advance Jackson’s nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a 53-47 vote, with the help of those three Republicans, putting President Joe Biden’s nominee on a clear path to being confirmed later this week by the full Senate.

But it’s unclear if they will face blowback from constituents or colleagues as they continue to explain their reasoning.

Collins was the first Republican to pledge her support to Jackson last week, after meeting twice with the nominee who she said alleviated her concerns. Murkowski and Romney’s endorsements followed on Monday, to the relief of the Biden White House, which had pushed for a bipartisan vote.

Jackson left “quite an impression” on Murkowski during her Judiciary Committee hearings, where “she was put under some pretty, pretty intense scrutiny, and I think you saw grace under pressure there,” Murkowski said.

“There was a level of personal attack that was not warranted,” she added, also calling out corrosive politics around the confirmation process.

“This is an awful process it’s just awful,” Murkowski said. “We’re strapped into it, we’re so divided now. We are to that point where it is almost automatic where if it is a president who is not of my party puts forth a nominee I am somehow obligated to just barely even give consideration.”

Moments after Murkowski announced her intention Monday, Romney followed suit — becoming the only Republican to reverse course and announce plans to support Jackson after previously voting against her confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year. He told reporters Tuesday that he got to yes after becoming convinced she’s within the “mainstream.”

“In her previous confirmation votes I had concerns about whether she was in the mainstream and having spent time with her personally and reviewing her testimony before Congress I became convinced that she is in the mainstream,” Romney said.

While Jackson did, then, get the support of Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on that vote, Graham said he will vote no this time around, adding that Jackson wouldn’t have been given hearings had Republicans controlled the Senate.

Republicans, led by Sen Josh Hawley, R-Mo., repeatedly challenged Jackson’s sentencing of child porn offenders during the proceedings in an effort to paint her as “soft on crime” — a label Democrats dismissed as false (A handful of offenders received sentences below federal guidelines from Jackson, but the prison terms were above those recommended by the probation officer, putting her in the mainstream of judicial action).

Romney, like Collins and Murkowski, also lamented Tuesday that the process of confirming Supreme Court nominees has becoming increasingly politicized.

“I think, perhaps, we are going to have to reconsider the process that we are going to pursue in the future in part because you could have a setting where you have a president of one party and a Senate of another, and maybe there will be a change,” Romney said. “But at this stage, I was convinced that Judge Jackson is well qualified, intelligent capable, and I became convinced that she is within the mainstream.”

Collins said she was “delighted” to learn that her colleagues had “reached a similar conclusion” on Jackson’s confirmation, adding she’d had “some conversations” with the two before they announced their positions but only learned of their support “earlier yesterday.”

She also raised concerns with the, at times, combative process wrecking the court’s credibility.

“I hope we can get back to a time where we have bipartisan support for qualified Supreme Court nominees because it is important for public confidence in the court,” Collins said. “The court is not supposed to be a politicized institution, and if the nomination process leading up to confirmation is overly political, I believe it undermines the public’s confidence in our courts and regrettably that’s what we’ve seen with the last few nominees.”

While Collins aired concerns with some of Jackson’s sentences, she said in a statement that the fact she “will not agree with every vote that she casts as a Justice…is not disqualifying.”

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(WASHINGTON) — For the first time since leaving office, former President Barack Obama returned to the White House on Tuesday to join his former vice president in promoting the Affordable Health Care Act he signed into law 12 years ago.

Obama joined President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to deliver remarks on the Affordable Care Act, with Harris speaking first to applaud the anniversary and introduce the former president. Obama received a standing ovation and told a packed East Room, “It is good to be back at the White House.”

Before addressing the landmark legislation of his presidency, Obama cracked a few jokes, as he often did as president. First, he light-heartedly opened his remarks by jokingly thanking “Vice President Biden.”

“That was a joke. That was all set up,” Obama said to laughter, walking back to give Biden a hug.

“I confess, I heard some changes have been made by the current president since I was last here,” Obama continued. “Apparently, Secret Service agents have to wear Aviator glasses now. The Navy mess has been replaced by a Baskin-Robbins. And there’s a cat running around, which I guarantee Beau and Sunny would have been very unhappy about,” he said to laughter.

Obama then pivoted to the purpose of his visit: to celebrate 12 years of the Affordable Care Act, saying it’s “an example of why you run for office in the first place.”

“We’re not supposed to do this just to occupy a seat or to hang on to power. We’re supposed to do this because it’s making a difference in the lives of the people who sent us here,” Obama said.

Biden is set to announce new steps his administration is taking to build on the Affordable Care Act, including a new executive order and a proposed rule from the Treasury Department to fix the ACA’s so-called “family glitch.” Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, other members of Biden’s Cabinet and some Democratic lawmakers were also in attendance.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden and Obama will tout the ACA, which she said they view as “a shining example of how government can work for the American people.”

“Not only did it ensure that millions of people had access to affordable health care, but it has been an opportunity to build on that and make changes and make improvements over the course of time, which of course is what they will talk about tomorrow,” Psaki said at Monday’s press briefing.

She said Obama and Biden will also have lunch at the White House Tuesday — “as they used to do on a weekly basis” — and added, “They continue to talk regularly.”

“They are real friends, not just Washington friends, and so I’m sure they will talk about events in the world as well as their families and personal lives,” Psaki said.

The visit from the popular former president comes as Biden struggles in the polls over his handling of 40-year-high inflation and soaring gas prices he’s pinned to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Psaki said it’s “exactly the right time to have the former president come here — given this is one of the proudest accomplishments that they worked on together, they shared together.”

“And it is emblematic of their shared view and belief that government can work for people and it can work for the American people. And this is an example of building on a success from more than 10 years ago and making it better over time,” she added.

Psaki also said to expect Obama to return to the White House again soon for his presidential portrait unveiling “and perhaps other engagements here in the future,” she said.

Since Biden took office, the administration helped to lower health care premiums for 9 million Americans through the American Rescue Plan, Psaki noted Monday, “the biggest expansion of affordable health care since the ACA.”

“We’ve made affordable health coverage more accessible during the pandemic through the opening of the special enrollment period, which enabled nearly 3 million Americans to have access to newly sign up for coverage under the ACA,” she said. “And President Biden has overseen the most successful open enrollment in history last year with the historic 14.5 million Americans signing up for ACA coverage and another million people signing up for the basic health care program.”

Tuesday marks Biden and Obama’s first joint appearance since attending the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks last fall in New York and their first joint event in Washington since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021.

Back in 2010, when the pair celebrated the ACA’s passage, Biden was caught on hot mic applauding Obama at the White House for what he called “a big f****** deal.”

Paraphrasing the memorable moment, a senior administration official told reporters of the change Biden is announcing Tuesday, “to borrow a phrase, this rule is a — is a big deal.”

“We think it’s the most significant administrative action to improve implementation of the ACA that we’ve taken since the law was first implemented,” the official said.

The rule would begin to take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2023, and Americans will be able to sign up to get financial assistance during the next open enrollment period.

As of last year, about 31 million Americans had health care coverage through the ACA, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

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(WASHINGTON) — Ivanka Trump, the eldest daughter and former senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, will meet today with the House Jan. 6 committee investigating the Capitol attack, sources tell ABC News.

She will meet with committee members remotely, sources said.

Her meeting comes after months of negotiations with the panel, according to sources.

She was one of a small handful of aides who was with President Trump inside the White House’s West Wing as the Capitol was under attack following his speech to supporters on the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, ABC News has previously reported.

Her husband, former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, met with the committee last week.

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(WASHINGTON) — For the first time since leaving office, former President Barack Obama is scheduled to return to the White House on Tuesday to join his former vice president in promoting the Affordable Health Care Act, which he signed into law.

Obama will join President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in delivering remarks “celebrating the success of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in extending affordable health insurance to millions of Americans as a part of the President’s agenda to cut costs for American families,” according to the White House.

The White House added that Biden “will take additional action to further strengthen the ACA and save families hundreds of dollars a month on their health care.” Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and other members of Biden’s Cabinet will also attend.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden and Obama will tout the ACA, which she said they view as “a shining example of how government can work for the American people.”

“Not only did it ensure that millions of people had access to affordable health care, but it has been an opportunity to build on that and make changes and make improvements over the course of time, which of course is what they will talk about tomorrow,” Psaki said at Monday’s press briefing.

She said Obama and Biden will also have lunch at the White House Tuesday — “as they used to do on a weekly basis” — and added, “They continue to talk regularly.”

“They are real friends, not just Washington friends, and so I’m sure they will talk about events in the world as well as their families and personal lives,” Psaki said.

The visit from the popular former president comes as Biden struggles in the polls over his handling of 40-year-high inflation and soaring gas prices he’s pinned to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Psaki said it’s “exactly the right time to have the former president come here — given this is one of the proudest accomplishments that they worked on together, they shared together.”

“And it is emblematic of their shared view and belief that government can work for people and it can work for the American people. And this is an example of building on a success from more than 10 years ago and making it better over time,” she added.

Psaki also said to expect Obama to return to the White House again soon for his presidential portrait unveiling “and perhaps other engagements here in the future.”

Since Biden took office, the administration helped to lower health care premiums for nine million Americans through the American Rescue Plan, Psaki noted Monday, “the biggest expansion of affordable health care since the ACA.”

“We’ve made affordable health coverage more accessible during the pandemic through the opening of the special enrollment period, which enabled nearly 3 million Americans to have access to newly sign up for coverage under the ACA,” she said. “And President Biden has overseen the most successful open enrollment in history last year with the historic 14.5 million Americans signing up for ACA coverage and another million people signing up for the basic health care program.”

Tuesday will mark Biden and Obama’s first joint appearance since attending the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks last fall in New York and their first joint event in Washington since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021.

Back in 2010, when the pair celebrated the ACA’s passage, Biden was caught on hot mic applauding Obama at the White House for what he called “a big [expletive] deal.”

As of last year, about 31 million Americans had health care coverage through the ACA, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday will announce new steps his administration is taking to build on the Affordable Care Act, including a new executive order and a proposed rule from the Treasury Department to fix the ACA’s so-called “family glitch.”

“Under Treasury’s new proposed rule, family members who have to pay more than 10% of income for coverage can be able to receive financial help under the ACA,” a senior administration official said on a call with reporters Monday night. “As a result, 200,000 uninsured people are expected to gain coverage and nearly a million more are expected to see lower premiums every day.”

The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that more than 5.1 million people fall in the ACA family glitch, but senior administration officials said they don’t believe everyone will choose to leave their current coverage plans, which is why they gave the above estimate of 200,000 newly insured and roughly one million switching plans.

The rule would begin to take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2023, if enacted, and Americans will be able to sign up to get financial assistance during the next open enrollment period.

Paraphrasing Biden’s memorable “this is a big f***** deal” quote on the day then-President Barack Obama signed the ACA, senior administration officials said, “to borrow a phrase, this rule is a – is a big deal.”

“We think it’s the most significant administrative action to improve implementation of the ACA that we’ve taken since the law was first implemented,” the officials said.

The executive order Biden will sign will highlight ways to make it easier for people to enroll in and keep their coverage, help people better understand their coverage options, strengthen and improve benefits, and improve access to health care providers. It will also take steps to reduce medical debt, officials said.

Biden will highlight these steps during a Tuesday afternoon event in the Rose Garden alongside Obama.

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(WASHINGTON) — By a bipartisan vote of 53-47, the Senate has forced the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson out of the Judiciary Committee — putting the judge on track for final confirmation by week’s end.

GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine voted with Democrats. All three Republicans will also support Jackson when it comes time to vote on final confirmation.

Jackson, President Joe Biden’s first nominee to the Supreme Court, got additional Republican support Monday.

“After multiple in-depth conversations with Judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court,” Murkowski said in a statement.

“My support rests on Judge Jackson’s qualifications, which no one questions; her demonstrated judicial independence; her demeanor and temperament; and the important perspective she would bring to the court as a replacement for Justice Breyer,” she said.

“It also rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year. While I have not and will not agree with all of Judge Jackson’s decisions and opinions, her approach to cases is carefully considered and is generally well-reasoned,” she continued. “She answered satisfactorily to my questions about matters like the Chevron doctrine, the Second Amendment, landmark Alaska laws, and Alaska Native issues. The support she has received from law enforcement agencies around the country is significant and demonstrates the judge is one who brings balance to her decisions.”

Romney issued his statement minutes later.

“After reviewing Judge Jackson’s record and testimony, I have concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor. 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,” he said.

Their statements came hours after, as anticipated, the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines in an 11-11 vote Monday on whether to send Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate.

The tie vote forced Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to file a discharge motion to bring the nomination before the full Senate in order to get it out of committee.

Earlier, only one Republican, Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, said she would vote for Jackson.

Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced after the committee kicked off its business Monday morning that he will vote no on Jackson’s nomination, paving the way for the 22-member, evenly-split committee to end in a tie vote.

But there was also an unintended delay forced by a Democratic senator.

“We have a problem,” said Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill, explaining that Sen. Padilla, D-Calif., whose presence is needed for the vote, was delayed when an overnight flight from Los Angeles had to return to the airport for a medical emergency.

As the committee ticked through opening statements Monday, Republicans continued to raise issues with Jackson’s record, and Democrats defended Jackson from what they recalled as “hurtful” questioning from GOP senators.

“We are going to have our political substantive disagreements, but it was the treatment in some of these questions that triggered a hurt in so many people I know and have encountered,” said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., reflecting on the hearings. “How qualified do you have to be?” he asked, going on to repeat her qualifications and fact that’s she been confirmed three times on a bipartisan vote before the Senate.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., meanwhile, said in his time that if Republicans had controlled the Senate, Jackson would have never been given hearings. Notably, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recently refused to say if Biden Supreme Court nominees would be considered if Republicans retake the Senate.

“If we get back the Senate and we are in charge of this body and there is judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side,” he said. “But if we are in charge, she would not have been before this committee. You would have had somebody more moderate than this.”

“What I know is she will get enough votes to get confirmed,” White House chief of staff Ron Klain told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, speaking before Romney and Murkowski announced their support. “In the end, I suppose, that’s the only thing that matters. But I wish more Republicans would look at the case here, look at the record and vote to confirm Judge Jackson.”

With a two-week Easter in sight for senators, Democrats are hoping for a final vote before the weekend.

If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

ABC News’ Trish Turner contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s first nominee to the Supreme Court, was expected to pass a major milestone Monday on her way to expected Senate confirmation later this week.

At the same time, two more Republicans — Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah — announced they would vote for Jackson’s confirmation when the full Senate is expected to vote later this week.

“After multiple in-depth conversations with Judge Jackson and deliberative review of her record and recent hearings, I will support her historic nomination to be an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court,” Murkowski said in a statement.

“My support rests on Judge Jackson’s qualifications, which no one questions; her demonstrated judicial independence; her demeanor and temperament; and the important perspective she would bring to the court as a replacement for Justice Breyer,” she said.

“It also rests on my rejection of the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court nominees, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more detached from reality by the year. While I have not and will not agree with all of Judge Jackson’s decisions and opinions, her approach to cases is carefully considered and is generally well-reasoned,” she continued. “She answered satisfactorily to my questions about matters like the Chevron doctrine, the Second Amendment, landmark Alaska laws, and Alaska Native issues. The support she has received from law enforcement agencies around the country is significant and demonstrates the judge is one who brings balance to her decisions.”

Romney issued his statement minutes later.

“After reviewing Judge Jackson’s record and testimony, I have concluded that she is a well-qualified jurist and a person of honor. 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,” he said.

Their statements came hours after, as anticipated, the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines in an 11-11 vote Monday on whether to send Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate.

The tie vote forced Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to file a discharge motion to bring the nomination before the full Senate in order to get it out of committee and Democrats were expected to prevail on the procedural move Monday evening — especially now with support from Romney and Murkowski.

Earlier, only one Republican, Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins, has said she would vote for Jackson.

Ranking Member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announced after the committee kicked off its business Monday morning that he will vote no on Jackson’s nomination, paving the way for the 22-member, evenly-split committee to end in a tie vote.

But there was also an unintended delay forced by a Democratic senator.

“We have a problem,” said Chair Dick Durbin, D-Ill, explaining that Sen. Padilla, D-Calif., whose presence is needed for the vote, was delayed when an overnight flight from Los Angeles had to return to the airport for a medical emergency, so the committee is in recess until he returns.

As the committee ticked through opening statements Monday, Republicans continued to raise issues with Jackson’s record, and Democrats defended Jackson from what they recalled as “hurtful” questioning from GOP senators.

“We are going to have our political substantive disagreements, but it was the treatment in some of these questions that triggered a hurt in so many people I know and have encountered,” said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., reflecting on the hearings. “How qualified do you have to be?” he asked, going on to repeat her qualifications and fact that’s she been confirmed three times on a bipartisan vote before the Senate.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., meanwhile, said in his time that if Republicans had controlled the Senate, Jackson would have never been given hearings. Notably, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell recently refused to say if Biden Supreme Court nominees would be considered if Republicans retake the Senate.

“If we get back the Senate and we are in charge of this body and there is judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side,” he said. “But if we are in charge, she would not have been before this committee. You would have had somebody more moderate than this.”

Even without Republican support, Democrats have the power to push her nomination forward. The final vote, while bipartisan, will likely be narrower than what the White House had hoped for.

“What I know is she will get enough votes to get confirmed,” White House chief of staff Ron Klain told ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “In the end, I suppose, that’s the only thing that matters. But I wish more Republicans would look at the case here, look at the record and vote to confirm Judge Jackson.”

With a two-week Easter in sight for senators, Democrats are hoping for a final vote before the weekend.

If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

ABC News’ Trish Turner contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — The killing of Ukrainian civilians committed by Russian forces in Ukraine is a war crime, President Joe Biden said Monday — repeating his accusation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “war criminal” who needs to be held “accountable.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “genocide” on Sunday after hundreds of Ukrainian civilians were found killed in Bucha, a suburb of the capital Kyiv that was retaken by Ukrainian forces. Some of the civilians were buried in mass graves, others found dead in the street with their hands tied behind their backs.

“These are war crimes, and they will be recognized by the world as genocide. You are here today and can see what happened. We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women, murdered children. I think it is more than — this is a genocide,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Bucha Monday.

The U.S. has stopped short of using the term “genocide” because of its strict legal definition and the heavy implications it carries. Asked whether the latest reported atrocities are genocide, Biden told reporters, “No, I think it is a war crime.”

He called again for an investigation and trial, even seeming to suggest that Putin himself should face trial himself.

“We have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight, and we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual — have a war crimes trial,” Biden said.

“This guy is brutal and what’s happening with Bucha is outrageous, and everyone’s seeing it,” he added.

While stopping short of labeling it “genocide,” Biden’s call for for a possible war crimes trial raises the pressure on the international community’s response to Russia’s war, which has killed thousands and displaced more than 10 million people in less than six weeks.

Biden said he would seek more sanctions against Putin and his government over the atrocities in Bucha, although it’s unclear if more economic pressure will do anything to bring an end to Putin’s campaign, even as it has shifted away from the Kyiv area to the south and east.

In Bucha and other towns outside Kyiv, the U.S. has also seen “credible reports of torture, rape, and civilians executed alongside their families,” according to State Department spokesperson Ned Price — all of which would be considered war crimes under international law. In southern Ukraine, especially around the besieged city Mariupol, the U.S. is aware of “reports of tens of thousands abducted or deported by Russia’s forces and shocking descriptions of rape, assaults, and murders perpetrated by Russia’s forces,” Price added.

The Kremlin has suggested that the scenes out of Bucha, reported publicly by eye witnesses, reporters, and Ukrainian government officials, were fabricated — a tactic used repeatedly by Russian officials.

Last month, the State Department announced it had made a legal assessment that Russian forces were committing war crimes in Ukraine, including targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure and indiscriminately firing on civilian areas. That assessment was based on public reporting and U.S. intelligence, including intercepted communications between Russian forces, according to U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice Beth Van Schaack.

That could implicate Putin himself, according to Van Schaack, who told reporters it depended on what jurisdiction was hearing cases. Her office at the State Department has continued to document and analyze evidence in preparation for trials.

But while her office also assists in genocide determinations, U.S. officials have so far avoided using the term.

“We have seen atrocities. We have seen war crimes. We have not yet seen a level of systematic deprivation of life of the Ukrainian people to rise to the level of genocide, but again, that’s something we’ll continue to monitor,” Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday.

Genocide is an attempt “to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group,” according to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 1948 treaty that banned it.

It can involve acts of killing or harm, as well as preventing births, forcibly transferring children, or imposing dire conditions that are “calculated to bring about its physical destruction,” per the treaty.

While Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian civilians, including now with executions, it seems that for U.S. officials, the scale is at this point not large enough to prove an intent to destroy the Ukrainian people.

Sullivan used the terms “mass death” and “mass incarceration” and added that if there is “a level of atrocity, a level of killing, a level of intentional activity that rises to meet our definition of genocide, we’ll call it for what it is.”

There are several international investigations underway right now into potential war crimes in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court, which conducts individual prosecutions, launched an investigation in early March, while the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to create a panel of experts to investigate, finally naming its members last week.

The U.S. is also supporting a multinational team of independent war crimes investigators, including American experts, that are working with Ukraine’s prosecutor-general on her office’s probe of Russian war crimes, Price announced.

But while the State Department supports those various investigations, its genocide determinations can take years to complete.

Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he had determined that Myanmar’s military had committed genocide against the Rohingya — nearly five years after the Muslim ethnic minority faced a campaign of terror that killed thousands and displaced nearly one million to neighboring Bangladesh.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle contributed to this report from the White House.

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