Potential Candidate to Replace Breyer Once Wrote ‘Presidents are Not Kings’ in Ruling Against Trump

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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is believed to be a leading candidate to replace Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, once wrote “presidents are not kings” in a ruling against the Trump administration.

Breyer will step down from the court after its current term, ending more than a year of speculation he would do so in order to ensure his successor might continue his judiciary legacy.

Jackson previously clerked for Breyer and was confirmed to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday by the U.S. Senate.

Despite the new appointment, Jackson might soon sit on the high court.

President Joe Biden vowed during his campaign for president that if given an opportunity, he would fill a Supreme Court vacancy with a Black woman. With Breyer’s pending retirement, the jurist has emerged as a top contender.

Jackson is no stranger with regard to ruling on high-profile cases.

In 2019, she authored a 118-page opinion in which she stated former White House counsel Don McGahn must cooperate with Robert Mueller’s investigation over alleged ties to Russians before the 2016 election.

McGahn was told to ignore a subpoena by former President Donald Trump.

Jackson wrote:

Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings… Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

…

Thus, DOJ’s present assertion that the absolute testimonial immunity that senior-level presidential aides possess is, ultimately, owned by the President, and can be invoked by the President to overcome the aides’ own will to testify, is a proposition that cannot be squared with core constitutional values, and for this reason alone, it cannot be sustained.

McGahn sat down with members of the House Judiciary Committee last summer.

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