Ukraine

Floor Speech

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Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, this evening, the Ukrainian Ambassador, Oksana Markarova, will be the honored guest of President Biden in the State of the Union Address. Yesterday, we hosted the Ambassador for a meeting with almost 25 Senate colleagues. It was a meeting I won't soon forget.

Her country, Ukraine, is facing a barbaric, unprovoked military assault from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The images and the stories are heartbreaking and infuriating--more than 600,000 Ukrainians fleeing to neighboring countries; brutal destruction, leaving people without homes or power during the winter; and Russian shelling of residential neighborhoods. We are witnessing innocent lives callously taken and uprooted.

This is a photo from yesterday's Washington Post. It shows a paramedic in Ukraine desperately trying to save this man's young daughter. She had been a victim of Vladimir Putin's shelling in her country of Ukraine. She did not survive.

Why is Putin doing this? Because his own petty grievances and warped nostalgia for the dark days of the Soviet Union have taken control. In his twisted mind, an entire innocent nation of 44 million Ukrainians must be attacked and occupied at any cost.

There is another reason he is trying to end Ukraine as we know it. He cannot bear to have a free and independent nation on his border because it shows to the people living in Russia the stark contrast of democracy versus despotic rule.

This morning, the Human Rights Council in Geneva met. When Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began his speech, 100 diplomats all rose and walked out in protest of Russia's war on Ukraine. All of NATO and nearly the entire world are united in outrage at Russia's aggression.

Mr. Putin should think about the infamy of his legacy. For years, he has poisoned and suppressed his own people. Now he is trying to destroy an entire nation, killing this little girl and who knows how many other innocent people. Mr. Putin will not win this war. And every day, every hour that Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, he is harming his own people and ensuring that he leaves a legacy of shame.

What is also remarkable about the meeting yesterday with Ambassador Markarova was the determination and courage she and her fellow Ukrainians are showing against Putin. She explained to us that Ukrainians are peaceful people, but they will fight.

They will participate in the negotiations, but they won't surrender. And they will fight until the Russians leave. Quite simply, the Ukrainians might be outmatched by the Russian military, but they will not be defeated by it.

Here is one of the many acts of courage and defiance in recent days. In Odessa's historic Brodsky Synagogue, performers sang a moving 19th century version of the ancient Jewish hymn ``Adon Olam''--now a prayer for an end to the invasion.

And the world is on Ukraine's side--with rallies of support in all corners of the globe, Japan, Sweden, Finland, Chicago, even in cities across Russia. Countries like ours are providing urgently needed weapons to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.

Poland and other Ukrainian neighbors are helping with hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing in panic and disbelief. Think of it. While we have political factions in the United States who are determined not to let any refugees into our country, Poland and other countries--Moldova, Romania, for example--are opening their doors and accepting the Ukrainian refugees to give them some safety and security.

We must continue and increase all of the help that we can send-- military and humanitarian. Let us be crystal clear: Putin will not win this. In the end, the Ukrainian people will prevail. And Putin's legacy and history will be written in the blood of the children and innocents his invasion of Ukraine has spilled. Nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson

Mr. President, yesterday, I spoke briefly about President Biden's announcement on Friday of his nomination to the Supreme Court of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Today, I would like to offer some additional thoughts on this nominee.

For those who are less than familiar with Judge Jackson, let me tell you a bit about her. Born in Washington, DC, her mom and dad were public school teachers. When she was 3 years old, Judge Jackson and her family moved to Miami, FL, so her father could attend law school.

Judge Jackson's father later served as the top attorney for the Dade County School Board, and her mother spent 14 years as a high school principal in Miami. In Judge Jackson's family, education and service were honored.

Two of Judge Jackson's uncles were police officers. One became police chief in Miami. Her younger brother also became a police officer and a detective in Baltimore, MD, before going on to serve in the U.S. Army where he was deployed to Iraq.

From a young age, Judge Jackson has been recognized as brilliant and thoughtful. In high school, she was the class president and the star of the debate team.

It was during a national high school debate championship at Harvard that she fell in love with the university. She would go on to graduate from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

She then embarked on an amazing and storied career. She practiced law, civil and criminal, at several leading law firms and clerked at all three levels of the Federal judiciary, including--and with some irony--for Justice Stephen Breyer, the Justice she hopes to replace.

She has also worked as a Federal public defender, served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, spent 8 years as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which is often considered to be the second most prestigious court in our Nation. She was confirmed to that position just last year through our Senate Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan basis.

As I noted yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee has examined her record three times for three different positions and confirmed her on a bipartisan basis for all three positions.

She has performed each of these public service roles with distinction. In the coming weeks, the Senate Judiciary Committee will undertake another comprehensive review of her record, her qualifications, and her approach to judicial decision making. As chair of the committee, I am determined to see that this review is careful, fair, and professional.

I have great respect for her record, and I will be saying more in the coming days and weeks. For today, I want to focus on three important points: the President's selection process, the historic significance of this nomination, and how Judge Jackson will build upon the honorable legacy of Justice Breyer.

President Joe Biden is a leader who respects the Senate. When Justice Breyer announced a month ago that he intended to retire, President Biden pledged ``to fulfill my duty to select a justice not only with the Senate's consent, but with its advice.''

The President kept that promise; and for that, he should be commended. The process for nominating Justice Breyer's successor has been rigorous and bipartisan. It has included the Senate every step of the way.

Just days after Justice Breyer's announcement, the President hosted Senator Grassley--the ranking Republican on this committee--and myself in the Oval Office to discuss the nomination. Repeatedly, he said to Senator Grassley and to me, ``If you have someone you think I should consider, please let me know.'' And he was sincere.

Over the next several weeks, President Biden sought the advice of many Senators--not just the two of us--including all the members, Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, then he made this decision to nominate Judge Jackson.

Every Supreme Court nomination is critically important, but this one has special historic significance. In the United States history, our Supreme Court has had 115 Justices; 108 of those Justices have had one thing in common. They were all White men.

Five of those who served on the Court as Justices were women. Only three have been people of color, out of 115. With Judge Jackson's nomination, we have already seen history in the making. If confirmed, she will be the first Black woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. With this nomination, Judge Jackson and we have the opportunity to bend the arc of history toward justice.

In accepting President Biden's nomination last week, she said one of her heroes, another brilliant, trailblazing Black woman, was named Constance Baker Motley. Judge Motley was a champion of civil rights and women's rights, a key attorney on Thurgood Marshall's side when the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund argued Brown v. Board of Education and other cases which finally ended legal segregation in America.

Judge Motley was the first Black woman to ever argue before the Supreme Court. She went on to be the first Black woman appointed to the Federal judiciary, serving as a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

Judge Motley didn't know it, but on her 48th birthday, a little baby girl was born in Washington, DC. She would grow up to be one of the finest legal minds of her generation, and she would be the first Black woman to be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court.

Upon accepting that nomination last week, Judge Jackson said: ``Today, I proudly stand on Judge Motley's shoulders, sharing not only her birthday, but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law.''

And then she added: ``If I'm fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded will inspire future generations.''

I want to conclude my remarks by acknowledging the extraordinary legacy of Justice Stephen Breyer. It is a legacy upon which I believe Justice Jackson will build if she is confirmed. In his time on the Court, Justice Breyer has been defined by his rigorous intellect, his thoughtful, pragmatic approach to judicial decision making, his collegiality and consensus building, and his devotion to the core principles on which America is founded--freedom, liberty, and equality.

By all these measures and more, Judge Jackson is a natural successor to the Justice she once clerked for. She has proven her intellectual mettle--from the debate team in high school in Miami, to Harvard Law where she served as supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review, to clerkships on the District of Massachusetts, the First Circuit, and the Supreme Court, and to an extraordinary record of excellence on the Federal bench.

It goes without saying that if you are going to be the first of anything in America, you have got to be the best. You have got to bring remarkable achievements to your aspiration to make history. Judge Jackson does that.

She is a jurist who understands the importance of pragmatism and real-world experience. She will draw on her broad range of experience on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, as a Federal public defender, as a litigator in civil lawsuits in private practice. Judge Jackson has also demonstrated the premium she places on collegiality and consensus- building, especially with those who may not share her views. That may be unusual, but it sure is important in these days.

Judge Thomas Griffith, a conservative jurist appointed to the DC Circuit by President George W. Bush, wrote in support of Judge Jackson's nomination to the DC Circuit, and he has written again in support of her nomination to the Supreme Court.

Judge Griffith wrote: ``Judge Jackson and I occasionally differed on the best outcome of a given case . . . . However, I have always respected her careful approach, extraordinary judicial understanding, and collegial manner, three indispensable traits for success on the Supreme Court.

He added: ``Judge Jackson has a demonstrated record of excellence, and I believe, based on her work as a trial judge when I served on the Court of Appeals, she'll adjudicate based on the facts and the law and not as a partisan.''

Finally, like Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson has shown her dedication to the Nation's founding principles, on and off the bench. She has a deep faith in the power and promise of our Constitution and an unwavering belief that we must protect and preserve those ideals that set our Nation apart from so many others.

Last Friday, when President Biden nominated Judge Jackson, the Senate Judiciary Committee, we sent the traditional questionnaire that is sent to nominees and candidates. It was returned to us last night promptly. It was lengthy and comprehensive. We have seen much of it before, earlier last year when Judge Jackson was aspiring to be on the DC Circuit. And it is a great starting point for any Senator or any member of the staff who wants to understand Judge Jackson.

She has published over 500--in fact, 573--written opinions. Her background and thoughts on important issues will be no mystery or surprise for those who want to take the time to look at those cases. It has been less than a year since she was approved here on the floor of the U.S. Senate, but we are starting this process anew with her visitations with Senator McConnell, Senator Schumer tomorrow, as well as myself and Senator Grassley.

Senators who wish to meet with her personally and talk about her positions on any issues or other relevant topics are welcome to do so. Senator Grassley this morning in the Judiciary Committee encouraged his colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle to take advantage of the opportunity if they wish. We want to make sure that this is an orderly, respectful, collegial, and professional process.

My dearest hope is at the end of the day, she will receive bipartisan support for this nomination. It would be a great day for the Senate, as well as for the Supreme Court if that happened. But she needs to earn it. And to do it, she will be making the rounds in the Senate with individual Members making her case and then appearing before our committee at a later date, which we will announce this week.

I want to thank my colleagues for taking this as seriously as they should. It is rare in our Senate career that we are allowed to bring up the issue of advise and consent to the highest Court in the land--a lifetime appointment, a critically important appointment for the history of the United States and the history of that great Court.

I want to make sure that on the Senate Judiciary Committee, we are respectful and bipartisan in every aspect of that effort.

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