Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the Supreme Court, in a bipartisan vote

The Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the Supreme Court, in a bipartisan vote on Thursday.

Jackson was the first nominee to the Supreme Court. Three Republicans broke with their party and joined all 50 Democrats in voting for the Supreme Court nominee, a sign of bipartisanship that has become rare for Supreme Court confirmations.

Jackson is poised to become the 116th justice and the first black woman on the Supreme Court when Justice Stephen Breyer retires this summer. She is the first former public defender to be elevated to the top court, bringing a diverse legal background to the bench that was highly sought after by the Biden White House.

Jackson, the daughter of former public school teachers who grew up in Miami, Florida, graduated from Harvard Law School. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit is considered a launchpad to the Supreme Court by the 51-year-old jurist. Biden appointed her to that seat a year ago, which sparked rumors that she would make the list if a Supreme Court seat became open.

Biden promised to nominate the first Black woman for the Supreme Court when he announced his retirement from the Senate. The president wanted to choose a successor who would be pragmatic and defend the independence of the Supreme Court. Jackson was a former clerk for Breyer and also served on the US Sentencing Commission.

Biden introduced Jackson as his pick in a White House ceremony on February 25, describing her as a proven consensus-builder and distinguished jurist.

Jackson's career includes a number of legal clerkships, private practice and eight years as a federal district judge before she was tapped for the appellate court last year. Jackson was confirmed by the Senate in a bipartisan vote.

Graham, along with the majority of Senate Republicans, voted against Jackson on Thursday, a sign that the politically divisive Supreme Court confirmation process that hung over the Trump years has continued.

Jackson's nomination did not spark a judicial fight like that of Justice Amy ConeyBarrett, who was approved on a party-line vote just eight days before the 2020 election, and Justice Brett Kavakian, who denied allegations of sexual assault. Her addition to the court will not change the conservative majority on the court. Jackson will keep the current ideological makeup when she takes over from Breyer.

Jackson's confirmation hearings last month turned heated when Republicans tried to tie the judge to political issues such as critical race theory. Some GOP members grilled Jackson on her child-pornography sentencing record as a federal district judge, and her public defender experience representing Gitmo prisoners, making baseless accusations that she is soft on crime.

Jackson defended her record. If confirmed to the Supreme Court, she pledged to support and defend the Constitution.

I decide cases from a neutral stance. I look at the facts. She testified that she interprets and applies the law to the facts of the case without fear or favor.

Although she secured the support of three Republicans, Jackson was widely expected to get approved to the nation's highest court even without any GOP votes because Democrats, who control the Senate, only needed a simple-majority to push her nomination through.

Jackson will join the Supreme Court just a few months after the justices are expected to release major decisions regarding abortion and gun rights. Many of Jackson's supporters think she will help restore faith in the institution.