The Senate confirmed the 116th justice, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, to the Supreme Court, 53-47. She is the first Black woman to serve on the court.
All 50 Democrats, along with three Republicans, Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah, voted in favor of President Biden’s nominee on April 7, 2022. In addition, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and first woman of color to hold the role, presided over Senate throughout this vote.
With this confirmation, President Joe Biden fulfilled his 2020 campaign pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the highest court of the land. In late February, Biden announced his pick for the Supreme Court.
Jackson’s confirmation hearings began on Monday, March 21. The hearing spanned a total of four days. She underwent close to 24 hours of questioning from 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The panel announced they were deadlocked panel “deadlocked on approving her nomination along party lines” the following Monday, according to CBS News.
She will replace Justice Stephen Breyer when he retires from the Supreme Court at the end of the summer term.
What Jackson Brings to the Court
Jackson brings professional diversity to the Supreme Court. She served as an assistant public defender and on the federal court in Washington D.C.
She “demonstrated the arc of the nation’s history through the story of her life and that of her parents,” CBS News reports. This one-generation arc starts with her parents’ experience being attendees of segregated schools in Florida to her confirmation as “the first Black woman to sit in the nation’s highest court ”
Written by Ke’Lena Thomas
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
CBS News: Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed to Supreme Court, making history as first Black female justice; by Melissa Quinn
CNBC News: Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings just ended — here’s what happens next; by Kevin Breuninger
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Tom Thai’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Miki Jourdan’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
