Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, has called for an investigation into liberal Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for attending the Grammy Awards earlier this week.
While Jackson attended the Grammys for a valid reason — she’d been nominated for a Grammy herself for her narration of the audiobook “Lovely One” — her behavior there raised concerns among critics.
Critics were especially bothered by Jackson’s decision to clap at jokes made at the expense of federal immigration authorities.
Instead of taking the time to learn what a woman is, Ketanji Brown Jackson was at the Grammy’s applauding anti-ICE rhetoric.
How can Americans trust her to be impartial on the highest court in the land?pic.twitter.com/F7wn5jxoVb
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 3, 2026
In a letter submitted on Thursday to Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, Blackburn complained about all the “far-left rhetoric” at the Grammys that Jackson had been exposed to.
“While it is by no means unheard of or unusual for a Supreme Court justice to attend a public function, very rarely—if ever—have justices of our nation’s highest Court been present at an event at which attendees have amplified such far-left rhetoric,” she wrote.
Blackburn went on to document some of this rhetoric in detail.
“Many of the attendees wore lapel pins that read ‘ICE OUT,’ an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) adage,” she wrote. “One Grammy winner that evening opened his acceptance speech by stating, ‘Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ‘ICE out,’ ” which was received with thunderous applause by the crowd.”
“Another award recipient that evening noted in her acceptance speech that ‘No one is illegal on stolen land,’ going on to say that ‘we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting . . . And f*** ICE, that’s all I’m gonna say,'” Blackburn added.
In the letter, the Republican senator also called on Roberts to initiate an investigation into whether Jackson’s actions and behavior had adhered to the high court’s Code of Conduct.
Americans deserve a Supreme Court that is impartial and above political influence. When a Justice participates in such a highly politicized event, it raises ethical questions. We need an investigation into Justice Jackson’s ability to remain impartial.https://t.co/nzid4Fnl35
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 6, 2026
Rolled out in 2023, the Code of Conduct states that justices must “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”
Blackburn noted in the letter that the newly rolled out Code of Conduct was initially weaponized to unfairly attack the high court’s conservative justices.
“In one particularly egregious example, Senators Durbin and Whitehouse sent you a letter urging you to ‘take appropriate steps to ensure that Justice [Samuel] Alito will recuse himself in any cases related to the 2020 presidential election and January 6th attack on the Capitol’ simply because Justice Alito’s wife flew a Revolutionary War-era flag outside of their home,” she wrote.
“Similarly, Senate Democrats spent months claiming—falsely—that Justice [Clarence] Thomas violated the Court’s ethics code because he went on vacation with a long-time friend. These public smear campaigns orchestrated by congressional Democrats and amplified by the mainstream media were baseless and a pathetic attempt to influence the decision-making process of the Court,” she added.
The senator went on to contrast these invalid complaints with her far more legitimate concerns about Jackson.
“Unlike these meritless claims against Justice Alito and Justice Thomas, there are serious questions regarding Justice Jackson’s participation in such a brazenly political, anti-law enforcement event and her ability to remain an impartial member of the Supreme Court,” she maintained.
Blackburn further raised the possibility of recusal, which the Code of Conduct says should apply in situations “where an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could fairly discharge his or her duties.”
“Following Justice Jackson’s participation in such a partisan and inflammatory event, an investigation into her ability to remain impartial with respect to immigration matters that come before the Court is urgently needed,” Blackburn concluded.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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