Jackson’s Constitutional Confusion: Biden’s Supreme Court Pick Risks Technocratic Control

Much of the nearly 11 months into President Donald Trump’s second term has been dedicated to reversing the mistakes of his predecessor and restoring peace around the world.

But there is one Biden error that could continue for decades, one that Trump and his successors are powerless to reverse, one that has the potential to adversely affect every American: Biden’s nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Monday, Justice Jackson’s unsuitability to serve on the high court was further highlighted during oral arguments in the case of Trump v. Slaughter, which centered on the president’s authority to replace a Federal Trade Commission commissioner.

The Supreme Court permitted President Trump to remove Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, the former FTC commissioner, in September while she proceeded with her legal challenge to the firing.

During the proceedings, Justice Jackson told U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer that she did not understand why “agencies aren’t answering to Congress” rather than the president, and noted that “Congress established them and can eliminate them.”

However, the Executive Vesting Clause in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states that “the executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States.”

The executive branch includes the federal bureaucracy, often described as the administrative state, which implements and enforces federal laws and regulations. While Congress creates the laws, the executive branch carries them out. This suggests that the president, as head of the executive branch, would have the authority to hire and fire members of the federal bureaucracy.

Justice Jackson, however, launched into a series of statements critics described as nonsensical. She explained: “My understanding was that independent agencies exist because Congress has decided that some issues… should be handled by non-partisan experts…”

“Having a president come in and fire all the scientists, doctors, economists, and PhDs—replacing them with loyalists who don’t know anything—is not in the best interest of citizens,” she added. “These issues should not be in presidential control.”

Townhall writer Amy Curtis labeled Jackson’s remarks a “No Kings’ Meltdown.” Jackson suggested that if a president could hire and fire within the administrative state, it would turn him into a monarch.

“I appreciate there’s a conflict between the two,” she said, “but under our constitutional design, given historical concerns about monarchy and presidential control, Congress’s view should take precedence.”

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk called her comments “nonsense” and stated: “There must be a way for the public to affect independent agencies—or we live in a bureaucracy, not a democracy!”

George Washington Law Professor Jonathan Turley criticized Jackson’s stance as inviting technocracy. “Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stole the show yesterday,” he said. “Her suggestion that experts shouldn’t be subject to termination by a president is a virtual invitation for technocracy rather than democracy.”

Since January 20, President Trump has worked to reverse Biden’s policies—including closing the border, removing illegal aliens, eliminating narco-terrorists, reversing climate change directives, and combating inflation. In short, he has been addressing the damage left by Biden, including efforts to end wars that began under his administration.

But Justice Jackson’s appointment to the Supreme Court cannot be reversed—it is a lifetime position. She was not nominated for her legal expertise but specifically to become the court’s first Black female justice. Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson noted that even Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a fellow liberal, had to “explain the law” to her as if she were a fifth grader.

New York Post columnist Miranda Devine described Jackson’s remarks as “insane,” concluding: “It’s a crowded field, but one of Biden’s most destructive legacies.”

At age 55, Jackson could remain on the court for another 20 to 30 years. This confirms that she is easily “one of Biden’s most destructive legacies.”

America must prepare for a long, tortuous ride.

Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer, former U.S. Merchant Marine officer, and Second Amendment advocate.