- Cory Booker moved Ketanji Brown Jackson to tears with a speech about the historic nature of her nomination.
- Booker's words came near the close of another contentious day of hearings.
- "Don't worry my sister, God has got you," Booker told Jackson.
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker moved Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to tears on Wednesday, shifting the focus during a contentious day of questioning to the historic nature of Jackson's nomination as the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court.
"You've got five more of us," Booker told Jackson, who reached for tissues multiple times during his rousing quasi-pep talk. This came after multiple Republican lawmakers spent the day tearing into Jackson's record, suggesting she's been soft on child pornography and terrorism.
"It's not gonna stop, they're gonna accuse of this and that … but don't worry my sister, God has got you," Booker said. "And how do I know that? Because you're here and I know what it has taken for you to sit in that seat."
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Booker, who ran for president in 2020, brought up Jackson's stated hero, Judge Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman to serve on the federal bench. The senator recounted that Motley, a civil rights icon, encountered charges that she was a communist during her confirmation process. He also spoke about Harriet Tubman, an abolitionist who was instrumental in the Underground Railroad.
"She was viciously beaten," Booker said of Tubman. "She faced starvation, she was chased by dogs, and when she got to freedom what did she do? Rest? No, she went back again, and again, and again. The sky was full of stars, but she found one that was a harbinger of hope for better days, not just for her and those people that were enslaved, but a harbinger of hope for this country."
Booker said he has thought about Tubman as Jackson's nomination is considered before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"I thought about her and how she looked up," he told Jackson, who was seated just a few feet in front of him. "She kept looking up no matter what they did to her she never stopped looking up. And that star, it was a harbinger of hope. Today, you are my star. You are my harbinger of hope."
Earlier on, Booker brushed off his shoulder. Jay-Z famously rapped about brushing dirt off your shoulders, which President Barack Obama himself referenced during his historic 2008 presidential run. Booker told Jackson not to worry about the attacks she's sustained. He added that senators could theoretically yell "Beyonce can't sing," but the very utterance of such a claim would not make it true.
Booker said his colleagues' criticism would not "steal my joy" and as for Jackson, "nobody is gonna take this away from you."
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat who also serves on the Judiciary Committee, thanked Booker for changing the tone of the day. "Thank you, Cory, for the moral reset after so much cynical poison," Whitehouse wrote on Twitter.
Booker himself grew emotional as he talked about how he'll react if Jackson is confirmed, a likely outcome given that even in the worst-case scenario she can be confirmed by Democratic votes alone.
"When that happens, when you ascent onto the highest court in the land, I'm going to rejoice," he said. "I'm going to tell you right now the greatest country in the world, the United States of America, will be better because of you."