Senate panel will hold 4 days of hearings for Biden's Supreme Court nominee

Senate panel will hold 4 days of hearings for Biden's Supreme¹ Court nominee²

　　Transcript³

　　The Senate Judiciary Committee opens Supreme Court confirmation⁴ hearings Monday for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman on the high court.

　　A MARTINEZ, HOST:

　　The Senate Judiciary Committee meets this week to consider President Biden's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　KETANJI BROWN JACKSON: If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, will inspire future generations of Americans.

　　MARTINEZ: Democrats⁵ say she's unquestionably qualified⁶ and prepared for the role. And they're hoping, even in these deeply partisan⁷ times, that at least a few Republicans will agree and vote for her confirmation. NPR congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell will be covering the hearings all week. Kelsey, what can we expect to see during the hearings this week?

　　KELSEY SNELL, BYLINE⁸: Well, today is just the first day. It's all about opening statements. You know, every member gets a chance to kind of say their bit about Jackson today, and then Jackson herself gets to speak. Usually, it's a general overview⁹ of a nominee's personal story. So we'll hear about her qualifications and what she'll bring to the court, a little bit more about that personal story we heard a bit there. It's kind of an easing in. And then Tuesday is a marathon. They're expected to go about 12 hours with short breaks for lunch and dinner, and then every member gets 30 minutes to question Jackson. That's kind of when we see a lot of kind of the heated back-and-forth in the past.

　　Wednesday will involve more questions, but we expect a shorter day. And Thursday is all about character witnesses, friends and family giving their perspective on the judge. It usually is kind of a less intense day. Then about a week or so later, the committee will come back and meet again for a public session to vote on her nomination¹⁰. You know, Democrats hope that all of that will wrap up fairly quickly, and they can hold a final floor vote before Easter.

　　MARTINEZ: Now, Republicans are already going after Judge Jackson. For example, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley tweeted an allegation that Jackson has a record of being soft on sex offenders¹¹, among other things. Is that representative of what we're going to see and hear from other Republicans?

　　SNELL: So I should start by saying that Hawley's comments have been repeatedly debunked¹², and independent fact-checkers have said the allegation is false. You know, most Republicans I've talked to avoided talking about Hawley entirely¹³. They usually kind of pivot¹⁴ to saying they have questions about her record. They say they're going to ask them in the committee. But they've mostly tried to avoid even acknowledging some of the attacks that people like Hawley are discussing. One good example is Senator John Barrasso. He's one of the top Republicans in the Senate. And here's how he described it yesterday on ABC's "This Week."

　　(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THIS WEEK")

　　JOHN BARRASSO: Going through the record, there are some concerns that people have about her being perceived as soft on crime. That's all going to come out with the hearings. But they're going to be respectful, they're going to be thorough, and they're going to be fair.

　　SNELL: Some other things I've heard from Republicans are questions about her work representing Guantanamo Bay detainees and how she would approach questions of the law. You know, but Hawley is on the Judiciary Committee, and he will have an opportunity to make these allegations live on TV, you know, and that's regardless of what Republican leaders hope or plan for.

　　MARTINEZ: So how are Democrats preparing to come to her defense¹⁵?

　　SNELL: Well, they say they've got an organized plan to counter attacks like this. Here's Dick Durbin. He's the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. And he explained it a little bit yesterday, also on ABC.

　　(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

　　DICK DURBIN: There's no truth to what he says. And he's part of a fringe within the Republican Party.

　　SNELL: You know, when I talk to Democrats, they say their main goal right now is really just ensuring that Jackson gets bipartisan support when her nomination comes up for a final vote on the Senate floor. You know, they don't necessarily need Republican votes to confirm her, but it remains¹⁶ a goal for them. And there really aren't any major hurdles¹⁷ seen for Jackson at this point.

　　MARTINEZ: Now, Kelsey, we've got some other news from the Supreme Court last night about the health of Justice Clarence Thomas. What do we know?

　　SNELL: So we heard last night that the court said that he was admitted to a hospital on Friday with flu-like symptoms and remains hospitalized with an infection. Now, you may recall, Thomas is 73 years old, and he's one of the court's conservative stalwarts. He's also the only sitting Black justice. His condition is said to be improving, and the court's statement said he should be released in the next day or so. There are arguments this week, and he'll be able to participate in rulings even though he's not there by reviewing the written materials in those cases and with audio recordings¹⁸ of the arguments. So they say he'll still be able to participate.

　　MARTINEZ: All right. That's NPR congressional correspondent Kelsey Snell. Thanks a lot.

　　SNELL: Thanks for having me.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 overview   

n.概观，概述

参考例句：

• The opening chapter gives a brief historical overview of transport.第一章是运输史的简要回顾。
• The seminar aims to provide an overview on new media publishing.研讨会旨在综览新兴的媒体出版。

10 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

11 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

12 debunked   

v.揭穿真相，暴露( debunk的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His theories have been debunked by recent research. 最近的研究揭穿了他的理论的真相。
• Some advertising slogans should be debunked. 某些夸大的广告用语应予揭露。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

14 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

17 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

18 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐