After Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed, Jesse Watters lies about Democrats blocking a Supreme Court nominee who was never nominated

Watters: “Democrats also blocked who would have been the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, Janice Rogers Brown, when Bush tried to elevate her, because she was a Republican”

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the first Black woman nominated and, earlier today, confirmed by the Senate to the Supreme Court. In saying that “Democrats also blocked who would have been the first Black woman on the Supreme Court,” Fox host Jesse Watters echoed a false claim that had bounced around social media about Janice Rogers Brown, a Bush appointee to the Court of Appeals who was confirmed for that position on a bipartisan vote but never nominated by either Bush or Trump to the Supreme Court.

Of course, Watters never did care much for getting the facts right.

From the April 7, 2022, edition of Fox News' Jesse Watters Primetime

JESSE WATTERS (HOST): Democrats put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. And that's a big milestone that we can all appreciate. 

But, Democrats also blocked who would have been the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, Janice Rogers Brown, when Bush tried to elevate her, because she was a Republican. So their intentions aren't pure.