Highlights from Senate vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson

Former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, the Biden administration's sherpa for Jackson as she undergoes the Senate confirmation process, followed Monday’s opening statements by previewing what to expect from Jackson on Tuesday.

"What I think you're gonna hear from Judge Jackson tomorrow is the way she goes about judging and a process and a methodology that some will call a philosophy, others will just call it a process, but it's going to be very, very consistent with what you heard today from almost everybody on that dias of what they want in a Supreme Court justice," he said. "Fairness, impartiality, judicial restraint, not staying in a judicial lane, not being a policymaker -- that's what you're going to hear the next two days from this judge."

Asked how he expects Jackson to respond to accusations that she's "soft on crime," Jones said it will be "very simple for her to make the argument because she's going to point to her record."

"If she was truly a judge with a demonstrated history -- a judge -- with a demonstrated history of being 'soft on crime,' she would not have been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Police Chiefs, attorney generals from across the country from both sides of the aisle, former DOJ officials, former national security officials, former George W. Bush officials -- that wouldn't happen," Jones said.

He said attacks from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., were "not surprising" and that Jackson will be able to talk about each of the seven cases he’s taken issue with over the next two days.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out the GOP’s line of attack against Judge Jackson’s record on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, outlining what he called "red flags" that detract from her historic nomination.

Painting her as a judge with limited experience on the bench, McConnell said Republicans know very little about her judicial philosophy and emphasized that she has issued just two written opinions on the appeals court -- both released after the opening on the high court became public. Notably, Jackson authored nearly 600 opinions during her eight years as a trial court judge.

"There is no meaningful sample size of appellate opinions or senators to consult," McConnell said. "The country needs a respectful, dignified, but vigorous, exhaustive hearing."

McConnell conceded that Jackson is "likable," but stressed that he voted against her for her current post, adding that she hasn’t resolved his concerns about whether she'll follow the law as written.

"I want to hear whether the judge actually agrees that the job the judge is to follow the law as it is read a simple straightforward proposition," he said. "The judge’s job is to bring neutrality, not an agenda."

For her part, Jackson said in her opening statement that she decides cases "from a neutral posture... without fear of favor."

-ABC News' John Parkinson

After nearly four and a half hours of opening statements on Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will reconvene Tuesday at 9 a.m. when Judge Jackson will begin two days of intense questioning from the committee’s 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Members will speak in order of seniority, with 30 minutes each for questions Tuesday and 20 minutes Wednesday.

Democrats are expected to continue their defense of Jackson against GOP attacks on her record as a federal public defender and in response to allegations she's "soft on crime." The Biden White House is aiming for at least a few Republicans to vote to confirm the president's nominee.

With members of the public invited into the hearing room for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered doors, public seats were nearly full for Jackson’s opening statement, with numerous African American women in the room.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Noting she has almost a decade of experience on the bench, Jackson said she approaches the law with a "careful adherence to precedent" and joked that her opinions "tend to be on the long side...because I also believe in transparency -- that people should know precisely what I think and the basis for my decision."

"I decide cases from a neutral posture. I evaluate the facts, and I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me, without fear or favor," she said. "I know that my role as a judge is a limited one. But the Constitution empowers me only to decide cases that are properly presented."

Jackson continued, "All of my professional experiences, including my work as a public defender and a trial judge have instilled in me the importance of having each litigant know that the judge in the case has heard them, whether or not their arguments prevail in court."

Wrapping up her opening statement and the first time she’s spoken formally before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jackson acknowledged those who came before her.

"I stand on the shoulders of so many who have come before me, including Judge Constance Baker Motley, who was the first African American woman to be appointed to the federal bench and with whom I share a birthday," Jackson said. "And like Judge Motley, I have dedicated my career to ensuring that the words engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building 'equal justice under law' are a reality and not just an idea."

"Thank you for this historic chance to join the highest court to work with brilliant colleagues to inspire future generations -- and to ensure liberty and justice for all," she said in closing.

Jackson will face marathon questioning round from senators on Tuesday and Wednesday, ahead of the American Bar Association and outside witnesses speaking to her qualifications on Thursday.