US Supreme Court nominee faces last day of Senate questions.

United States Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson returned to the Senate for a third day of hearings on Wednesday as Republicans tried to paint her as soft on crime and Democrats heralded her historic nomination to be the first Black woman on the high court.

In Tuesday’s marathon hearing, Republicans aggressively questioned her on the sentences she has handed down to sex offenders in her nine years as a federal judge, her advocacy on behalf of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, her thoughts on critical race theory and her religious views. At one point, Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas read from children’s books that he said are taught at her teenage daughter’s school.

Several Republican senators questioned Jackson on her child pornography sentences, arguing they were lighter than federal guidelines recommend. She said she based the sentences on many factors, not just the guidelines, and said some of the cases had given her nightmares.

Wednesday’s hearing is the second day of questioning, and the third day of hearings, after Jackson and the 22 members of the panel gave opening statements on Monday. On Thursday, the committee will hear from legal experts before an eventual vote to move her nomination to the Senate floor.

Seun Fakorede