The vote in the Senate chamber was presided over by the first female Black vice president. The senators voted from their desks, which was appropriate for the confirmation vote of a Supreme Court justice.
This is a great moment for Judge Jackson. Schumer said ahead of the vote that it was an even greater moment for America as we rise to a more perfect union.
Jackson's ascension to the Supreme Court is one of the most consequential moves by President Joe Biden. It's a huge win for the president, as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Schumer called it a momentous day.
Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the high court and the third Black Supreme Court justice in U.S. history. Jackson has experience as a public defender.
At the end of his term, I think Biden will say that this will be one of the most significant things he has done. Doug Jones, who helped guide Jackson to confirmation as her so-called "sheroah", said that it is important to history.
Jackson's confirmation will put her in line to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who is expected to step down later this year. The 51-year-old Jackson was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit just last June.
The Supreme Court vote total was the highest since Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed with 54 votes, because all 50 Senate Democratic Caucus members supported Jackson. Jackson was confirmed roughly two hours after he cleared the filibuster.
I'm a senator, a pastor, and the father of a young Black girl. I know how much it means for Judge Jackson to have handled the double jeopardy of racism and sexism and now stand in the glory of this moment.
The approval of Jackson by the Senate is a shot in the arm to Democrats who saw former President Donald Trump approve three high-court justices in just four years after GOP LeaderMitch McConnell blocked the party from filling a vacancies.
McConnell said that Biden set out to nominate a judicial activist and that she had failed to convince the majority of his conference otherwise. He and other GOP leaders didn't go as hard as they could against her nomination, but they did allow her to move forward.
McConnell defended the questions Jackson faced during the hearings.
No nominee for any position in the Senate deserves a cakewalk. McConnell said that tough questions about a federal judge's own rulings and statements are the definition of fair game.
Democrats set a self-imposed April deadline for Jackson's confirmation, but it was met. The Senate left for an Easter recess after Jackson's confirmation.
Jackson's path to the court faced stern opposition from high-profile conservatives. The Senate Judiciary Committee was unable to agree on her nomination earlier in the week. Schumer had to hold an additional procedural vote this week to consider her nomination on the floor, a rare move for a high-court nominee and a reflection of both the evenly divided Senate and the bitter nature of modern-day Supreme Court confirmations.
Jackson's hearings before the Judiciary Committee were contentious, with Senate Republicans accusing her of a light sentence for child pornography cases. Jackson's defenders argue that her record is in line with most federal judges.
Jackson was a public defender when he wrote the brief. Jackson was asked if she supported adding seats to the Supreme Court, as well as whether she supported Justice Ginsburg's opposition to the idea. Jackson replied that it was up to Congress to decide.
She has support from two old GOP allies and a new one. Romney voted against her for the lower court, but Collins and Murkowski supported her ascension to the D.C. Circuit. Lindsey Graham was the third Republican to vote to confirm her to the D.C. Circuit, but he came out against her high court nomination after campaigning for a South Carolina judge.
Jackson was a district court judge for the District of Columbia before she became a circuit judge. She was a Supreme Court clerk.
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