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The Senate Thursday confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court and fulfilled President Biden‘s campaign promise to appoint the first Black woman to the high court.
The vote was bipartisan, 53-47, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah voting for Jackson. The Republican senators previously announced their support for the history-making confirmation saying she is well-qualified. Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the confirmation vote Thursday afternoon.
The back of the Senate chamber was filled with House members from the Congressional Black Caucus who arrived to mark the historic day. With Harris presiding, First gentleman Doug Emhoff watched the vote in the visitor gallery looking down at the proceedings.
In this image from video from Senate Television, the Senate votes at the U.S. Capitol on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become a Supreme Court justice Thursday, April 7, 2022 in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)
(Senate Television via AP)
Jackson joined President Biden and other White House senior staff in the Roosevelt Room to watch the results of the Senate vote on her nomination to the Supreme Court.
“Seeing Judge Jackson ascend to the Supreme Court reflects the promise of progress on which our democracy rests,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., said ahead of the vote. “What a great day it is in America today.”
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, March 21, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Republicans who opposed Jackson did so on several fronts: her dodging of questions on whether she favors court packing; her inability to define a “woman,” insufficient explanation of her judicial philosophy her “soft on crime” sentencing record, including those of several child pornography offenders.
“Based on her record, I believe she will prove to be the furthest left of any justice to have ever served on the Supreme Court,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Thursday.
Thursday’s vote marks the culmination of a rollercoaster confirmation process that included tears at the hearing from Jackson, as well as combative questioning from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and others about her sentencing record as a federal judge.
President Biden holds hands with Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as they watch the Senate vote on her confirmation from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
During two intense days of questioning at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Republicans pressed Jackson about why she gave a handful of child pornography offenders prison time that was less than what prosecutors and sentencing guidelines allowed and accused her of being too lenient on criminals.
In contrast, Democrats praised Jackson’s grace under pressure and sought to highlight Jackson’s long list of achievements. At some points, senators celebrated how far she’s come as a Black woman in America – drawing visible signs of emotion and tears from Jackson.
“I hope to inspire people to try to follow this path,” Jackson said at the hearing in a message to young people.
President Biden goes to hug Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as they watch the Senate vote on her confirmation from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“I want them to know that they can do and be anything. …I would tell them to persevere.”
Jackson, 51, is a Harvard Law School graduate and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She previously was a Senate-confirmed federal district court judge, member of the United States Sentencing Commission, a federal public defender and a private attorney at four elite law firms.
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The last justice with experience representing criminal defendants was Justice Thurgood Marshall, the trailblazing NAACP lawyer who was the first Black man on the Supreme Court.
Ketanji Brown Jackson, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court nominee for U.S. President Joe Biden, wipes away tears during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Jackson held her own against a barrage of Republican attacks centering on crime and race, inching closer to becoming the first Black woman on the Supreme Court in a marathon day of testimony before a Senate panel yesterday.
(Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Jackson will succeed Justice Stephen Breyer once he retires from the bench at the end of the court’s 2021-22 term, which could be late June or early July.
The ideological makeup of the court will remain the same with a 6-3 split in favor of justices appointed by Republican presidents.
Fox News’ Pat Ward and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
