FOP endorses Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supremes.

2/25/2022, 11:43 AM MST

One of the largest law enforcement labor organizations backed Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court.

By Nancy Vu, Politico

The National Fraternal Order of Police previously endorsed Donald Trump.

What happened: The president of the National Fraternal Order of Police, one of the largest law enforcement labor organizations, backed the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court — but with a caveat.

What he said: In a press release, Capt. Patrick J. Yoes touted Jackson's background with law enforcement. He cited the fact she has family members that worked as officers as a reason why she "should know quite well the difficulties and dangers our officers face in the line of duty every single day." Yoes then shifted to highlight Jackson's previous record on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, where she advocated to reduce mandatory minimums and voted to retroactively reduce federal sentencing guidelines for nonviolent drug offenses, a decision where Yoes said his organization was "not always in total accord with her views."

Despite previous divisions on the decisions of her cases, Yoes ultimately threw his support behind Jackson, saying she has "applied the law consistently and fairly on a range of issues."

There is little doubt that she has the temperament, intellect, legal experience, and family background to have earned this appointment. We are reassured that, should she be confirmed, she would approach her future cases with an open mind and treat issues related to law enforcement fairly and justly.

— Capt. Patrick Yoes in a statement

Why this is important: It's notable a police group would back a Democratic pick, especially an organization that previously endorsed former President Donald Trump. It's an added surprise that the law enforcement group would throw their support behind a nominee that previously served as a public defender.

— Nancy Vu