The Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the 116th justice – and first Black woman – to serve on America’s top court.
The final vote count 53-47 showed Jackson’s bipartisan support, with three Republicans joining all Democrats to elevate the 51-year-old federal judge to an election. a lifetime appointment in the supreme court.
“This is a great moment for Judge Jackson, but it’s an even greater moment for America as we emerge into a more perfect union,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN. .Y., said before the vote.
Jackson is President Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee. She will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who was confirmed to the bench in 1994.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to ever hold that title, presided over the vote to confirm Jackson. Harris seemed to choke for a moment with emotion as she read out the results of the vote, drawing a lot of applause and cheers from the senate floor.
Jackson will join a court that has become significantly more conservative following the appointment of three of former President Donald Trump’s nominees. Her addition would maintain the size of the court’s liberal wing, outnumbering the conservative bloc 6-3.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson watch the Senate vote on her nomination for the position of deputy justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on July 7 April 2022.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | beautiful pictures
Just five women – Sandra Day O’Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett – have served on the Supreme Court. Only two blacks, Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, have ever been appointed to the bench. No black woman has previously sat on the supreme court.
“Judge Jackson’s confirmation is a historic moment for our nation,” Biden said in a tweet after the vote. “We’ve taken another step towards making our highest court reflect America’s diversity. She will be an incredible Justice, and I’m honored to share this moment. with her.”
Jackson is also set to become the first Supreme Court justice to have served as a public defender. Democrats took that experience as more evidence that Jackson would bring new perspectives to the historically homogeneous court.
Public defenders are appointed to represent people in criminal cases who are unable to hire their own attorney, constitutional rights. However, Republicans have tried to use Jackson’s experience in defending the public against her by accusing her of empathizing with the views or actions of some of her previous clients, including others. detained at the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba.
Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was criticized for remarks Tuesday on the Senate floor that while former Justice Robert Jackson “left the Supreme Court to go to Nuremberg and prosecute the case against Germany Nazis … then this Judge Jackson could have gone out there to protect them.”
Jackson delivered that criticism and others during more than 23 hours of questioning during two grueling days of confirmation hearings at the Senate Judiciary Committee last month.
Members of the Black Caucus House of Representatives speak after the successful confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, April 7, 2022.
Saul Loeb | AFP | beautiful pictures
While her qualifications and temperament are rarely questioned, Republicans have ripped Jackson’s judicial record, arguing that her rulings show her willingness to legislate from the bench. They also focused intently on her conviction record in several child pornography cases, accusing her of offering light punishments to those offenders.
Fact checker countered that characterization, and Democratic committee members vehemently resisted Republican criticism.
Members of the American Bar Association, unanimously awarded Jackson the highest rating of “”Qualification“also defended Jackson’s record during her confirmation hearings.
Despite her endorsement, Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell viewed Jackson as a companion to far-left politics.
But after her confirmation hearings, Jackson gained the support of Republicans like Susan Collins in Maine, Lisa Murkowski in Alaska and Mitt Romney in Utah.
“While I don’t expect to agree with every decision she may make before the Court, I do believe she meets the standard of excellence and integrity,” Romney said in announcing his support. household on Monday.
