US Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson as First Black Female SCOTUS Justice
Applause broke out in the Senate chamber after Jackson was confirmed to sit on US' highest court in a 53-47 vote.
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The United States Senate on Thursday, 7 April, confirmed the appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to serve as a judge at the top US court.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, the nation's first Black and first female vice president, announced the final tally for Jackson (53-47), following which the Senate chamber erupted in applause.
She won three Republican votes, marking a bipartisan victory for President Joe Biden. Senator Susan Collins, Senator Mitt Romney, and Senator Lisa Murkowski were the three Republicans who voted to confirm Jackson.
A Slew of Firsts
Jackson will assume charge in June/July after the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer and will become the second Black Justice of the current court and the third in the history.
Her confirmation also makes her only the sixth woman on the court, where for the first time, four women will be sitting together in a panel of nine members. There are currently three women on the court, including the first Latina justice.
Jackson, 51, was nominated by President Biden in February to succeed Justice Breyer, who is about to retire this summer. Nominating a Black woman to help make the courts “look more like America" was one of Biden's pledges during his presidential campaign.
Jackson is currently a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, often referred to as the nation's second most powerful court.
The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the country's judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's Constitution.
The justices have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office.
'Overjoyed, Deeply Moved': Kamala Harris
Harris told reporters that she was "overjoyed and deeply moved" at Judge Jackson's confirmation to the top court.
In a statement, Harris said that "we want to make sure there is going to be full representation – and the finest and brightest and the best – and that’s what happened today," according to ABC News.
The White House has announced it will hold an event on the South Lawn on Friday afternoon to celebrate Jackson's confirmation.
President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Judge Jackson will speak, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
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