President Joe Biden's nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court kicked off what is expected to be a swift Senate confirmation process.
The Supreme Court will be at the White House on February 25.
The nominee can be confirmed with a simple majority of votes if the Senate Judiciary Committee votes to approve the nominee.
The Senate Judiciary chair said before Jackson was named that his aim was to confirm the nominee by the time the Senate starts its Easter recess.
The Republicans on the committee could use procedural methods to try and hold up Jackson's confirmation, but the ranking member said he has no intention of degrading.
CNN reported earlier in February that GOP leadership is unlikely to try to block Jackson's confirmation because her appointment won't change the court.
Jackson's confirmation to the D.C. Circuit last year was supported by Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski.
If Democrats retain the majority in the Senate and all 50 Democrats vote for her, Jackson will be confirmed without any GOP support.
We will begin immediately to move forward on her nomination with the careful, fair, and professional approach she and America are entitled to.
Senate Democrats have a majority. If just one senator unexpectedly resigns or is temporarily unable to serve, Republicans would take control of the chamber, allowing them to stymie the vote if they wanted to. One recent wild card for Democrats is Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who was hospitalized in February after suffering a stroke. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Friday he didn't know if Luj would return to the Senate.
Jackson was nominated by Biden on Friday to fill the Supreme Court seat left by Justice Stephen Breyer. Biden hailed the judge as "uniquely accomplished and wide-ranging." Jackson was a federal district judge, public defender and clerk to Breyer before he started at the D.C. Circuit Court last year. The left-leaning Breyer had been under heavy pressure from Democrats to retire while the party has control of both the Senate and White House in order to ensure a smooth confirmation process. Jackson's confirmation would not change the court's 6-3 conservative tilt, but would ensure that the seat will likely remain occupied by a left-leaning justice for decades to come, given Jackson is only 51 years old.
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