Justice Jackson Discusses Political Neutrality in Interview With Michelle Obama
A sitting Supreme Court justice's choice of interviewer draws scrutiny under the same ethical norms she cited to justify selective public appearances.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson stated in a recent sit-down interview that she carefully selects her public appearances to avoid the appearance of political bias, according to a report published by the Daily Caller on or around July 31, 2026. The interview was conducted by former First Lady Michelle Obama, a prominent figure in Democratic Party politics who served in the White House from 2009 to 2017.
Jackson was confirmed to the Supreme Court on April 7, 2022, by a Senate vote of 53–47, with three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah — joining all Democratic members in supporting her confirmation (Senate Roll Call Vote 117-173). She was nominated by President Biden and took her seat on June 30, 2022, upon the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.
The Supreme Court's Code of Conduct, adopted by the Court in November 2023, advises justices to avoid conduct that creates an appearance of political activity, though the code does not carry a formal enforcement mechanism. The code does not define which specific types of public interviews or interlocutors constitute a prohibited appearance of political activity. It is unknown whether Jackson sought guidance from the Court's ethics counsel prior to agreeing to the interview; that determination would be reflected in any internal ethics correspondence, which is not a public record.
The Daily Caller report did not specify the platform or publication that hosted the interview, the date it was recorded, or whether other justices have participated in comparable interviews with individuals publicly affiliated with one political party. A review of public records does not indicate that any sitting conservative-appointed justice has recently conducted a solo interview with a prominent Republican political figure, though such appearances are not comprehensively tracked in a single public database.
What remains unknown: the full transcript and context of Jackson's remarks on political neutrality, the venue and distribution platform of the interview, and whether the Court's public information office issued any guidance on the appearance. The complete interview recording, if published, would constitute the primary public record needed to assess Jackson's full statements in context.