Ketanji Brown Jackson did not come to play

How race and identity are shaping politics, policy and power.

Oct 04, 2022 View in browser   By Brakkton Booker With help from Gloria Gonzalez, Jesús A. Rodríguez, Jesse Naranjo, Nirmal Mulaikal, Rishika Dugyala and Teresa Wiltz Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images What up, Recast fam! President Joe Biden tours storm-ravaged Puerto Rico and announces $60 million in aid. He's scheduled to do a similar tour of Florida, which is just beginning its recovery from Hurricane Ian. Plus, Kanye West and Candace Owens make waves with their "White Lives Matter" fashion statement. First, we focus on the dawn of a new era on the  Supreme Court.   With the pageantry and anticipation that comes with being a barrier-breaking figure behind her, Ketanji Brown Jackson spent her first two days on the bench sending a trenchant message: She did not come to play. On Tuesday, the court heard arguments in a case to determine if Alabama's current congressional redistricting map violates the Voting Rights Act. The stakes are high: Merrill v. Milligan could potentially (further) gut the VRA. Jackson, the first Black woman to be seated on the high court, repeatedly peppered Alabama Solicitor General Edmund LaCour with queries. Her central question: Why was the state defending a Republican-drawn map that a lower court ruled watered down the clout of Black voters? "Why are you saying it's a neutral plan, counsel?" Jackson asked. "We're talking about a situation in which race has already infused the voting system. So can you help me understand why you think that the world of race-blind redistricting is really the starting point in this situation?" Recast email audio marker #1 Jackson, sitting on the far side of the bench due to the court's seniority-based seating arrangements, was among the most active questioners during her first oral arguments. On her first day, she wasted little time, demonstrating poise and confidence as she jumped into the fray. My POLITICO colleague, senior legal affairs reporter Josh Gerstein put it more bluntly : "The court's newest justice politely dominated the questioning at the outset of Monday's session." The Supreme Court, joined by new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, right, hears arguments on the opening day of its new term. | Dana Verkouteren via AP On Monday, the Supremes also heard oral arguments for Sackett v. EPA, which could narrow the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate wetlands. Jackson frequently interrupted Damien Schiff, a lawyer defending landowners seeking to restrict the federal government's regulatory authority. At one point Schiff referred to language in the Clean Water Act, the landmark federal law at the crux of this case, as "unenlightening" when it comes to the facts of the case before the court. "All right. Well, let me — let me — let me try to bring some enlightenment to it by asking it this way," Jackson quipped before proceeding with a follow up — a trend she would continue throughout the nearly two hours of oral arguments. Recast Jackson audio marker #2 Though she fills the seat vacated by Justice Stephen Breyer, Jackson does not shift the ideological balance of the court. But Jackson's presence made an impression, particularly among Black women. "Today is an important day about how representation matters," said Glynda C. Carr, president and co-founder of Higher Heights for America, a political action committee which advocates for electing progressive Black women at both the state and the federal level. Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, left, is escorted by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts following her formal investiture ceremony at the Supreme Court in Washington, Friday, Sept. 30, 2022. | Fred Schilling/U.S. Supreme Court Carr notes that it's critically important for cases like the Alabama gerrymandering suit, where plaintiffs argue the state's current map is unconstitutional because it lumps the majority of African American residents into a single congressional district — even though Black Alabamians make up more than a quarter of the population. "The Alabama case around redistricting actually sits at the intersection of this moment in history … around the importance of voters having representation, the power of votes," and the power for Black voters to choose their own representation in Congress, Carr says. Jackson's mere presence on the bench — and the unabashedness she's displayed over the course of her two days there — is already changing the trajectory of the court, even though conservative-leaning justices occupy a 6-3 supermajority. "Having her in the room makes a qualitatively different conversation than if Breyer would have been in the room," Nadia Brown, the director of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at Georgetown University, tells The Recast. Brown is optimistic the new justice can influence her conservative colleagues, while acknowledging that Jackson will likely end up in the dissent in several hot-button cases testing long-established precedents similar to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. In some of the cases this term, race will be a central issue. Those include the Alabama redistricting case, a challenge to the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act and a pair of affirmative action cases involving admissions at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. (During her confirmation hearings, Jackson, a Harvard alum who's served on the school's Board of Overseers, vowed to recuse herself from the Harvard case.) Jillian Latham, 10, attends a rally in front of the Supreme Court building to celebrate the U.S. Senate's confirmation vote for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, April 8, 2022. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Jackson takes to the bench at a time when there are an unprecedented number of female Supreme Court justices — four in all — and when the reputation of the high court is taking a hit. A poll released by Gallup last week indicated just 47 percent of respondents say they have "a great deal" or "a fair amount" of trust in the court. That drop in confidence represented a historic low for the court in that survey. Jackson's historic role will likely do little to shift public perceptions of the court or tamp down the tensions among justices who wonder publicly about the future of the court. As Jackson said during her investiture at the Library of Congress on Friday: "I have a seat at the table now and I'm ready to work." We'll be watching, as always. All the best, The Recast Team   Power dynamics are changing. With The Recast, you'll get a twice-weekly breakdown of how race and identity are the DNA of American politics and policy. Was this forwarded to you by a friend? Subscribe to the newsletter here.   BIDEN VOWS TO HELP PUERTO RICO President Joe Biden, with first lady Jill Biden and Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi, delivers remarks on Hurricane Fiona, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Ponce, Puerto Rico. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo Biden is reprising his role as consoler-in-chief this week. On Monday he visited Hurricane Fiona-ravaged Puerto Rico; the hurricane battered the island two weeks ago and continues to cause lingering power and water outages due to the island's inadequate power grid. While on the ground, first lady Jill Biden helped volunteers pack bags of supplies for survivors trying to piece back together their upended lives. First lady Jill Biden and others fill bags of supplies for Hurricane Fiona victims, Monday, Oct. 3, 2022, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, during a visit to Centro Sor Isolina Ferre Aguayo School. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo During his remarks, Biden announced more than $60 million to aid in bolstering the island's defenses against future storms, vowing the island will "get every single dollar promised" to them by the federal government. "I'm determined to help Puerto Rico build faster than in the past and stronger and better prepared for the future," he said. "After Maria, Congress approved billions of dollars for Puerto Rico," Biden said, adding that much of that aid was slow to reach the island. Biden was, of course, referring to Hurricane Maria, which devastated the entire island in 2017. His visit was a sharp contrast to that of his predecessor's visit to Puerto Rico five years to the day. Then-President Donald Trump made headlines when he grabbed paper towel rolls, proceeding to practice his free throw, shooting the rolls at folks in need of basic essentials. As my POLITICO colleagues Myah Ward and Christopher Cadelago note, there was no "presidential incarnation of Steph Curry " on this trip. Away from cameras, they report, Biden spent time with families and assured Puerto Ricans that "America is with you," while acknowledging that on the island, residents "haven't been taken very good care of" by the federal government. On Wednesday Biden will tour Florida undergoing its own recovery after Hurricane Ian ravaged the state. It will be an intriguing visit given the state's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is widely expected to launch a White House bid in 2024 should he win a second term in the fall elections. Tuesday afternoon, the White House confirmed that Biden will join DeSantis to tour storm damage.   REMEMBERING LITTLEFEATHER Activist and actor Sacheen Littlefeather takes part in a panel discussion for a PBS special in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 5, 2010. | AP Sacheen Littlefeather was a courageous voice who took a stand and for years suffered strife, before being recognized for her heroism. Jesús A. Rodríguez, the newest member of The Recast team, has this remembrance. Littlefeather, an Apache-Yaqui Indigenous activist and actor, died Sunday of breast cancer. She was 75. Littlefeather is best remembered for declining Marlon Brando's 1973 Academy Award for best actor on his behalf. The actor won for his iconic starring role in "The Godfather." After taking the podium and holding up a hand to reject the Oscar being offered to her, the 26-year-old told the audience that Brando "very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award — and the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry." She was greeted with a mix of boos and applause; John Wayne had to be physically restrained by six men from rushing the stage. Warned by producers that she'd be arrested if her speech lasted longer than 60 seconds, she cut things short. Three days later, The New York Times ran Brando's full speech. An avowed activist, Littlefeather also mentioned "the recent happenings in Wounded Knee," in which approximately 200 Oglala Lakota and members of the American Indian Movement occupied the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre. During the 71-day siege in 1973, federal agents killed two Indigenous protesters and wounded about a dozen more. In the 2018 documentary "Sacheen: Breaking the Silence," Littlefeather revealed that the speech had put her life at risk, harmed her reputation — and got her banned from the industry. This August, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized to Littlefeather for "the abuse you endured because of this statement." "For too long the courage you showed has been unacknowledged," wrote David Rubin, the Academy's former president. "For this, we offer both our deepest apologies and our sincere admiration."   ICYMI @ POLITICO GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker speaks at a primary watch party on May 23, 2022, at the Foundry restaurant in Athens, Ga. | Akili-Casundria Ramsess/AP Photo Walker threatens to sue — Georgia's Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker is threatening legal action against The Daily Beast for its report claiming he once paid for a former girlfriend's abortion. The ex-football player, who is running on a staunch anti-abortion platform, vehemently denies he ever paid for an abortion. POLITICO's Olivia Olander breaks the whole saga down, including his son Christian taking to Twitter to call him out for being a bad dad. Marijuana and the courts — Biden is no weed ally, showing little interest in loosening federal restrictions — forcing states to take the lead in developing how the legal marijuana industry grows. As POLITICO's Mona Zhang reports, courts may end up ruling in ways that "undermine efforts to diversify the industry." The End of the Digital Divide? — And if you missed it last week, my colleague Rebecca Kern and I moderated a panel at POLITICO's AI and Tech summit exploring whether the federal, state and the telecom industry are doing enough to close the digital divide. Check it out here.   THE RECAST RECOMMENDS He's an international rapper and one time presidential candidate. She's a provocative conservative commentator. Arm in arm, Kanye and Candace Owens appeared at Paris Fashion Week decked out in " White Lives Matter" shirts. As you can imagine, the social media response to their "fashion statement" is lit! The list for the National Book Award finalists is out. Among the fiction nominees are Sarah Thankam Mathews' "All This Could Be Different," about a young, queer Indian American woman; Alejandro Varela's " The Town of Babylon"; Jamil Jan Kochai's "The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories"; and Gayl Jones' "The Birdcatcher," about a group of Black expat artists in Ibiza. The winners will be announced next month. Those eagerly awaiting a video from Beyoncé's "Renaissance," will have to content themselves with this Tiffany & Co. commercial. For now. You're going to want to check out Jessie Reyez's NPR Tiny Desk Concert. Chinese American photographer Baldwin Lee has a new, eponymous book of his work and a solo exhibition in New York. His photos of the rural South in the 1980s are haunting. Alt R&Ber Steve Lacy's "Bad Habit" is the new No. 1 single in the country. We are very much feeling this. TikTok of the Day: House speaker says not everything in "Veep" is fiction.   Follow us on Twitter Brakkton Booker @brakktonbooker Rishika Dugyala @rishikadugyala Teresa Wiltz @teresawiltz Jesús Rodríguez @jesusrodriguezb Jesse Naranjo @jesselnaranjo   Follow us

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