2 years ago
The Senate is poised to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court Thursday afternoon, making her the first Black female justice and delivering Democrats their first high-court seat in 12 years.
Jackson’s confirmation roughly six weeks after her nomination will put her in line to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who is expected to step down later this year. It’s a rapid ascent for the 51-year-old Jackson, who was confirmed to the D.C. Circuit just last June.
All 50 Senate Democratic Caucus members support Jackson as well as Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah, which could lead to the highest Supreme Court vote total since Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed with 54 votes in 2017. Jackson needs just a simple majority to both clear a filibuster on Thursday morning as well as a final vote expected later on Thursday.
Jackson’s ascension to the Supreme Court is one of the most consequential moves by President Joe Biden and Democrats controlling Congress and is a huge win for the president as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Schumer called it a “joyous, momentous, groundbreaking day.”
“Every step of the way the judge has proved herself exceptionally qualified and prepared to serve on the court,” Schumer said on Thursday morning.
Though Jackson will replace Breyer and not alter the balance of the court, her approval by the Senate is a shot in the arm to Democrats that saw former President Donald Trump approve three high-court justices in just four years after GOP Leader Mitch McConnell blocked them from filling a vacancy in 2016.
McConnell said Biden set out to nominate a "judicial activist" and argued she had failed to persuade the vast majority of his conference otherwise. Still, he and other GOP leaders have not gone as hard as they could have against her nomination, declining to boycott her committee hearing and allowing her to move forward.
And Thursday’s votes will fulfill Biden’s campaign promise to appoint the first-ever Black woman to the high court; Jackson will also be just the third Black Supreme Court justice in U.S. history. Schumer said Thursday morning “this milestone should have happened generations ago.” Jackson will also be the only sitting justice with experience as a public defender.
"I think [Biden] will likely say at the end of his term, whenever that might be, that this will be one of the most significant things that he has done. Because it is that important to history," said former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who has helped guide Jackson to confirmation as her so-called Sherpa.
Jackson’s imminent confirmation means Senate Democratic leaders will meet their self-imposed April deadline, a goal they set before Biden formally announced his pick. After Jackson’s final confirmation, the Senate is scheduled to leave for a two-week Easter recess.
While Jackson’s support is bipartisan, her path to the court faced stern opposition from high-profile conservatives. And the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on her nomination earlier in the week, amid unanimous opposition from the panel’s Republicans. That forced Schumer 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 both of 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 of her of a lenient sentencing record for child pornography cases. Jackson’s defenders argue that her record is in line with the vast majority of federal judges.
Republicans also cited concerns about a brief Jackson wrote while representing Guantanamo Bay detainees as a public defender. They also pressed Jackson on whether she supported adding seats to the Supreme Court, noting that Breyer and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg opposed the idea. Jackson replied that that was for Congress to decide, harmonizing with Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s answer to a similar question in 2020.
Her support on Thursday includes two old GOP allies and one new one. Collins and Murkowski supported her ascension to the D.C. Circuit, but Romney voted against her for the lower court. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham was the third Republican who voted to confirm her to the D.C. Circuit, but he came out against her high court nomination after stumping for South Carolina Judge J. Michelle Childs.
Prior to her role as a circuit judge, Jackson was a district court judge for the District of Columbia and served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. She also is a former Supreme Court clerk for Breyer.
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