The US Senate on Friday confirmed the ascent of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, in a historic move as the 51-year-old appeals court judge would now be the first black woman judge of the country’s apex court.
The 100-member Senate evenly divided between the Democrats and the Republicans, voted 53-47 in favour of Jackson — fielded by President Joe Biden — as she secured the endorsement of three Republican senators, besides that of all Democrat ones. The three Republicans were Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah. All three said they might not always agree with Jackson, but found her to be enormously well qualified for the job.
Presiding over the vote was Vice-President Kamala Harris, the first black woman to hold the office. Biden and Jackson watched the announcement televised live in the White House’s Roosevelt Room as Harris said: “And this nomination is confirmed.”
Pumping his fist, Biden said: “Alright!”
“OK!” he added, wrapping an arm around Jackson, as she watched the screen with folded hands.
Biden — eager to fulfill a campaign pledge as he seeks to make the federal judiciary more diverse — then proceeded to hug Jackson, congratulating her, as she said: “Thank you Sir.”
“Big day,” added the President. The exchange was shown in a video tweeted later by Biden.
Of the 115 people to have served as judges at the Supreme Court since its founding in 1789, all but three have been white. There were two black judges, both men — the currently serving Clarence Thomas and the deceased Thurgood Marshall. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, currently in service, is the only Hispanic ever.
When she takes her seat in the Supreme Court upon Justice Stephen Breyer’s retirement this summer, Jackson will be the sixth woman to do so. She will take Breyer’s place in the liberal wing of the nine-judge court, dominated 6-3 by the conservatives.
“Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation. We’ve taken another step towards making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honoured to share this moment with her,” tweeted Biden later.
Born in Washington DC, Jackson grew up in Miami. Her parents attended segregated primary schools, and then attended historically Black colleges and universities.
Standing out as a high achiever through her childhood, Jackson graduated from Harvard University, then attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
She served as a public defender, worked at a private law firm and was appointed as a member of the US Sentencing Commission.
She now lives in Washington DC with her husband, Patrick, and their two daughters.
During Senate hearings last month, Jackson told Senators she would apply the law “without fear or favour,” dealing firmly with Republican attempts to portray her as a liberal extremist, too lenient in her sentencing.
The Supreme Court wields significant influence in shaping US policy on key, contentious issues, such as abortion, electoral laws, religious freedom, LGBT rights, guns, and racial matters.