Latest news with #2025ESSENCEFestivalofCulture
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Reveals What Keeps Her Up at Night
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson told a group at an Indianapolis Bar Association event on Thursday that "the state of our democracy" is what keeps her up at night, CNN reports. Newsweek reached out to the High Court on Thursday for comment via email. Why It Matters Jackson, the most recent nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court and the first by former President Joe Biden, has faced some criticism, most recently following her lone dissent in the Supreme Court's 8-1 ruling on a case involving executive power over federal workforce layoffs during President Donald Trump's administration and another ruling on birthright citizenship. What To Know At the event on Thursday, Jackson spoke about her book Lovely One: A Memoir, and afterward took questions, one asking what keeps her up at night. "I would say the state of our democracy," the justice responded, according to CNN. "I am really very interested in getting people to focus and to invest and to pay attention to what is happening in our country and in our government." Jackson did not mention Trump by name, CNN reports, but she has been outspoken against his administration in recent dissents. "Instead of directing its attention and resources to fully litigating the merits of the challenge to its authority in the courts below, the Government rushed up the chain of review, seeking an emergency stay of the District Court's preliminary injunction from us," she argued in the federal workforce ruling this week. Jackson was also asked by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson at the event if she has ever been bothered by a majority opinion's response to a dissent, CNN reports. "I have a very thick skin," Jackson replied. "My parents gave to me a sense of my own ability to write and to speak out and to say what I have to say and to not be really offended by other people saying what they have to say. I actually don't get my feelings hurt, what I do is I try to respond as effectively as I can in my writings." Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks at the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture on July 5 in New Orleans. (Photo byfor ESSENCE) Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks at the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture on July 5 in New Orleans. (Photo byfor ESSENCE) What People Are Saying Former George W. Bush adviser Scott Jennings, on CNN Wednesday night, talking about Jackson: "Apparently [she] has a fundamental disagreement with the rest of the court about what the role of a Supreme Court justice is." "People from the ideological right and the ideological left on the court have had to put her in her place a couple of times here in this term. I would guess internally it's causing internal issues at the Supreme Court." Ana Navarro, CNN senior political commentator, also on Wednesday: "And also listen, nobody puts baby in the corner, and nobody puts Ketanji in her place. She is a Supreme Court justice." She continued, "No, that's not putting her in her place, that's called disagreement, that's called dissenting. It's called a disagreement in the Supreme Court, which is perfectly OK. And if you're expecting a melanated girl from South Florida to shut up and play nice and not ruffle feathers ... you seem to have an issue with it," she said in response to Jennings. What Happens Next The Supreme Court will enter its recess until its next term begins. Observers expect continued focus on the role of dissenting voices, especially Jackson's, as the court addresses future cases involving executive authority, federal power and constitutional interpretation.
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Jasmine Crockett says she 'never had a concern' about Biden's mental state
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said she had zero concerns about former President Joe Biden's mental acuity while he was in the White House. Crockett was the only other lawmaker besides House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., in the closed-door interview with former White House physician Kevin O'Connor on Wednesday morning. Advertisement She told reporters afterward that Biden's stutter was the reason for his frequent verbal gaffes and raised her own accusations about President Donald Trump's mental faculties. 'No, I had none,' Crockett told reporters when asked whether she had any concerns about Biden's mental fitness while he was in office. She conceded she did not see Biden 'every single day,' but added, 'I did have an opportunity to interact with the president. I never had a concern.' 'Now, Joe Biden is, what, 80-some years old? I mean, the 80-some-year-old version of Joe Biden versus the 20-something year-old version of Joe Biden is a little different. And I'd imagine that I would be the same,' Crockett said. Advertisement 3 U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett speaks onstage during the 2025 ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 04, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Getty Images for ESSENCE 'But as it relates to his ability to understand where he is and what he's doing – he may get fumbled by words, but that's not anything new, and it's not anything that came with age. We know that this is someone that was born with a stutter that ultimately had to get over it.' Crockett said, 'Some of the tools that he had been trained to use to get over that stutter' may have dulled with age but said his mind was still sharp on the issues, before she pivoted to Trump. 'So yeah, he would maybe clobber over some words or something like that. But if you talk to him about foreign policy – one of the most vivid memories that I have was after that debate that did not go well, we saw him have this complete command of foreign policy, something that this president doesn't. And this president seemingly doesn't even know who our allies are,' she argued. Advertisement 3 US President Joe Biden speaks about the presidential election results in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, November 7, 2024. AFP via Getty Images 'He seemingly is cozying up with our enemies. And ultimately, these are things that should concern the American people, because these are things that are dangerous.' Crockett surprised reporters when she appeared on Capitol Hill for O'Connor's deposition on Tuesday morning. She said nothing to the press on her way in. After the interview, however, she accused House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., of mischaracterizing O'Connor's decision to plead the Fifth Amendment. Advertisement 3 Kevin O'Connor departs the Rayburn House Office building following testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigating former President Biden's mental fitness, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 9, 2025. REUTERS 'This is why it was important to make sure that a Democrat was in the room, because, unfortunately, sometimes people like to cherry-pick and make sure that they can give whatever fits their narrative,' Crockett said. Comer, for his part, criticized the doctor's decision. His committee is investigating allegations of a cover-up of the former president's declining mental health by his then-top aides. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
