Ketanji Brown Jackson Was Confirmed As The First Black Woman To Serve On The US Supreme Court

The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to ever serve on the nation's highest court.

Jackson will be the 116th confirmed justice and will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer at the end of the court's term this summer.

She is the first person of color to be appointed to a federal bench where people of color and women have historically been underrepresented. She is the first black woman to serve as a justice and she is also the third black woman to join the court.

The Senate voted 53-47 to confirm Jackson, with Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Romney joining Democrats.

Jackson has many of the same elite credentials that have defined modern Supreme Court nominees, including two Harvard degrees, as well as years of experience as a judge. She was championed by Democrats and liberal advocacy groups for her experience as a federal public defender and as a member of the US Sentencing Commission, positions that haven't traditionally served as pathways to a federal judgeship.

Democrats and the independents who caucus with them remained united, which allowed the Republicans to not block Jackson's nomination. Her confirmation became even more certain after Collins, Murkowski, and Romney said they would support her.

Republicans questioned Jackson about a number of culture war issues and 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 Jackson's decisions in those cases were described as mainstream by federal sentencing experts. She explained that she followed guidelines and policies set by Congress in how she managed those cases.

The conservative opposition campaign to Jackson's nomination turned into baseless accusations that she and the senators who voted for her supported child sex abuse.

Jackson spent the past year on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, which is where Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justice Clarence Thomas are alumni. Jackson was confirmed to the DC Circuit last spring with the support of three Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, who fiercely opposed her nomination to the Supreme Court.

Jackson was involved in several high-profile cases during her short tenure on the DC Circuit. She was part of a three-judge panel that blocked former president Donald Trump's attempt to stop the Jan. 6 committee from obtaining White House records.

She was confirmed because of her record as a district court judge, where her cases included a subpoena fight between Congress and a former top Trump administration official, a string of legal challenges to Trump administration policies, and the prosecution of a man who walked into a DC restaurant with loaded guns.

Jackson vowed to decide cases from a neutral stance, and to base her decisions on the facts and the law, joining other recent Supreme Court nominees in staying away from expressing any personal opinions about some of the most significant and politically divisive issues to come before.

Jackson spoke about the significance of her appointment, both in terms of the judicial system and her own family, in her testimony before the Senate. She paid tribute to the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge, and to her parents, who she said supported her in her fight against racial segregation.

She remained calm and largely unemotional throughout hours of questioning, at times pushing back when Republicans attempted to repeatedly ask her questions that she already answered about her sentencing record in cases that involved child sex abuse images.

Near the end of the proceedings, she cried as Sen. Booker delivered a passionate speech about the historic weight of her nomination.

You are a person that is much more than your race and gender. You're a Christian, a mom, and you love books. It's hard for me to not look at you and not see my mom, one of them who had to come here and sit behind you. She had to support you. Booker said that he saw his ancestors and that he was getting calls and texts. Nobody is going to steal that joy. You've earned this spot. You are deserving. You are an American.

Jackson won't join the court until after the justices recess for the summer, which means she won't be involved in what are expected to be blockbuster decisions in the coming months about the future of abortion rights and whether the Second Amendment extends to carrying firearms.

Biden will be able to fill a seat on the DC Circuit if Jackson is confirmed.