WATCH: Sen. Thom Tillis argues against court packing in Supreme Court confirmation hearings

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in his line of questioning to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on March 23, heavily criticized the idea of court packing, or adding justices to the nine-member U.S. Supreme Court.
Tillis warned that groups, like the left-leaning group Demand Justice, has called for expansion of the high court and the elimination of the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster.
“We’re talking about the ultimate destruction of two institutions,” he said. Tillis didn’t directly ask Jackson about her views on the issue. He added that he wished sitting justices spoke up more about the issue.
As the Senate Judiciary Committee continued its Supreme Court confirmation hearings March 23, Tillis also asked Jackson about a case involving anti-abortion protesters at clinics.
“Am I correct that a part of the argument was because they were noisy, in-your-face protesters, they needed to be a little bit further away than people who were pro-choice advocates,” Tillis asked.
Jackson responded that the brief she had worked on was “viewpoint neutral,” meaning that “it wasn't about what the people were saying, it was about clearing a path to allow people to enter the clinic.”
Tillis said that he would study the issue further but questioned whether anti-abortion and abortion rights protesters were being treated fairly.
“I'm not an attorney. I watch ‘Law and Order’ from time to time,” he said. “I'm not going to get into a debate, but on its face it almost looked as if there was this notion that there was bad speech and good speech.”
Wednesday was the Senate committee’s final day to question Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in February to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman on the high court. On the final day of the hearings March 24, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from friends and colleagues of Jackson about her temperament and approach to the law.
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