The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday was poised to vote on President Joe Biden's U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson in the next hurdle on her journey toward confirmation, with a potential tie looming on a panel evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Even with the possible 11-11 committee deadlock, Jackson's nomination still would proceed to the full Senate, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer already saying the chamber was on track to confirm the federal appellate court judge to the lifetime post before its planned Easter recess begins on Friday.

When Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota questioned Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Tuesday afternoon, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont proved they have something in common in addition to being members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Neither of them was in the hearing room.

Yet that did not necessarily make them outliers on the committee.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday in his first appearance before Congress since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, as the bureau faces scrutiny over whether it properly shared intelligence leading up to the assault as well as its broader role in addressing the nation's domestic terror crisis.

Wray has not spoken publicly about the Capitol siege since a Jan. 15 appearance alongside then-Vice President Mike Pence, amid heightened fears that President Joe Biden's inauguration would be the target of a possible attack.

FBI Director Christopher Wray is making his first extensive remarks about the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol before a Senate panel Tuesday, as the agency grapples with how to combat violent domestic extremism in the wake of the attack.

Around 300 people have been charged with federal crimes in connection to the attack, ranging from trespassing to conspiracy and assault charges, laying bare the bureau’s challenges in stopping politically motivated violence before it occurs.

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) revealed on Monday afternoon that she will step down as Democrats’ highest-ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The California Democrat faced an abundance of scrutiny from progressive lawmakers and activists for her civil behavior toward Justice Amy Coney Barrett during her confirmation hearings in October. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and others indicated that Sen. Feinstein is not combative enough to handle the position on the committee.

CEOs of two big social-media platforms hope to show senators Tuesday that their companies performed better in the 2020 elections compared with 2016, but they are likely to face hostile questions anyway.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday unanimously advanced the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett at its executive business meeting despite a decision by Democrats to boycott the Thursday markup in protest of how close Republicans are moving the nomination to Election Day.

Barrett was reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee by 12-0, with no Democrats present.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court on Thursday morning, on party lines. Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote and their elected duties, but could not prevent Judge Barrett from being confirmed by the committee. The stunt pulled by the committee's Democratic members allowed Judge Barrett's to be approved unanimously.

Does the longstanding norm of nominees avoiding questions on anything substantive serve the country?
Amy Coney Barrett acquitted herself very well at her confirmation hearings, which means, quite often, that she refused to answer questions.

Barrett is an exemplary nominee who was knowledgeable, clear, and composed throughout the three days of questioning, but not always responsive.

Amongst the many incredulous, remarkable, and possibly perjurious statements made by former FBI Director James Comey today before the Senate Judiciary Committee, this is probably the most dumbfounding exchange:

Sen. Lindsey Graham: "You don’t remember getting an investigatory lead from the intelligence community? Sept. 7, 2016, U.S. intelligence officials forwarded an investigative referral to James Comey and Strzok regarding Clinton’s approval of a plan [about] Trump…as a means of distraction?”

Comey: “That doesn’t ring any bells with me.”