Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today to introduce herself and make an opening statement. She told senators that she sees Breyer as a judicial model and would “hope to carry on his spirit,” The Hill reports. Jackson once clerked for Breyer and if confirmed, would replace him when he retires this summer. Members of the committee also made opening statements but asked no questions. Questioning will begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. EDT. Watch the proceedings on the committee’s website. Photo: Associated Press

U.S. President Joe Biden today delivered remarks on the Violence Against Women Act as an alarming spike in domestic violence has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reports. Biden signed legislation into law yesterday to extend and expand the provisions of the act. The new law expands protections for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, broadens access to legal services for survivors, and provides more resources and training programs for law enforcement. The new law also will do more for survivors in rural areas and underserved communities, the president said. Get full details here. The Violence Against Women Act was first written by Biden in 1994 when he was a U.S. senator. It expired under then-President Donald Trump in 2019.

Congress has approved a $1.5 trillion spending plan that includes a 6.1% boost in funding for federal judiciary security, Reuters reports. A total of $704.8 million was allotted for court security. Included in the funding is money for the creation of a program aimed at identifying and pursuing the voluntary removal of judges' personal information from the internet. The judiciary is also seeking approval of the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, which would allow federal judges to redact personal information on government websites and bar people and businesses from publishing such information online if written requests are made not to do so. The measure is named after the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered in an attack at the New Jersey judge’s home in 2020 by a disgruntled lawyer.  

The $1.5 trillion spending bill approved by Congress this week includes $85.5 million for a new federal courthouse in Chattanooga. The money comes on top of an initial $94.5 million approved in 2021, Chattanoogan.com reports. But the funding falls short of the $94.6 million that government officials say is necessary to complete the project. The new courthouse is projected to be 186,000 square feet. The federal General Services Administration began looking for a new site between two to five acres in January. It also will have to determine the best use and reuse opportunities for the current courthouse. Known as the Joel Solomon Building, it was the final work of famed Chattanooga architect R.H. Hunt when it was built in the 1930s.

Nashville activist and Stand Up Nashville co-founder Odessa Kelly is moving her congressional campaign from the 5th District to the 7th District following redistricting, the Nashville Post reports. Kelly initially planned to challenge Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, in the 5th District’s Democratic primary, but redistricting split Nashville into three different districts and Cooper announced his decision to retire. Kelly now will run in the Democratic primary in an effort to take on incumbent Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, whose 7th District now includes much of northern Davidson County. Kelly currently lives in the 6th District, but plans to move to the 7th District though election laws do not require congressional candidates to live in the district they seek to represent.

The Senate Judiciary Committee said this week that confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson will begin March 21, keeping the Senate on track for a possible final vote next month, the Associated Press reports. As is tradition, the hearings will last four days, with opening statements on March 21, testimony and questioning on the second and third days, and testimony from outside witnesses on the fourth day. If confirmed, Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve as a justice in the court’s 200-plus year history. WBIR has the AP story.

The U.S. Senate voted 49-44 today to strike down President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers. The Republican members of the chamber were able to force the vote under the Congressional Review Act, The Hill reports. Though no Democratic senators voted with Republicans to eliminate the rule, the GOP was able to get it through the evenly divided Senate because of six Democratic absences. The fate of the bill is unclear though. Observers say it would not likely pass the House or be signed by the president. The vaccine mandate applies to workers at health providers that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. It has been the subject of several court challenges but was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in January.

The U.S. Senate yesterday approved a bipartisan bill that seeks to strengthen public financial reporting requirements for federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court justices, Reuters reports. The measure, and a similar bill passed by the U.S. House, follow a September report from the Wall Street Journal that revealed 131 judges failed to recuse themselves from cases involving companies in which they or their family members owned stock. The Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act would establish a 45-day window for judges to report stock trades of more than $1,000 and require the judiciary to post disclosure forms online.

The U.S. Senate yesterday approved a bill that would ban companies from forcing employees who allege sexual assault or harassment to settle their claims with an arbiter without the option of filing a lawsuit, sending a bill that passed the House of Representatives earlier in the week to President Joe Biden for his signature. The “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act” will provide federal protection for employees' right to sue their employers over allegations of sexual harassment or assault, nullifying clauses in employment contracts that force employees to enter arbitration with their employer instead. Reuters has more on the legislation.

Nashville businessman Quincy McKnight withdrew from the race for Tennessee's 5th Congressional District yesterday, announcing his intention to instead run for Nashville mayor in 2023. McKnight, CEO of payment processing company Covenant Pay, said he decided he "can best serve the people of Nashville” as mayor, the Tennessean reports. His departure still leaves four candidates in the Republican primary: businessman Baxter Lee, former State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, music video producer Robby Starbuck, and attorney and retired brigadier general Kurt Winstead. On the Democratic side, first-term Mayor John Cooper has not yet announced whether he will run for reelection. Local nonprofit leader Hal Cato says he is considering a run.