Ketanji Brown Jackson has become the first black female Justice in the United States Supreme court.
Gatekeepers News reports that the US Senate voted to confirm Judge Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday, confirming her place in history as the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
In the Upper Chamber, Jackson’s confirmation as the 116th justice in U.S. history received bipartisan backing, with a final vote of 53 to 47.
Three Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah, joined all 50 Democrats in supporting President Joe Biden’s nominee. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and first woman of colour to hold the role, presided over the Senate during the vote.
“On this vote, the yays are 53. The nays are 47 and this nomination is confirmed,” Harris said to rousing applause from senators.
Her appointment to the apex court is likely to be a significant component of President Biden’s legacy, and marked his first opportunity to make his imprint on the highest court.
However, Jackson will not take the bench immediately, as Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she will fill, is poised to retire at the end of the Supreme Court’s term this summer.
Mr. Biden watched the vote with Jackson in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. After the Senate passed the threshold needed for her confirmation, the two were captured embracing.
President Joe 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)
Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sai “This is a wonderful day, a joyous day, an inspiring day for the Senate, for the Supreme Court, and for the United States of America.
“Today is one of the brightest lights, and let us hope it’s a metaphor, an indication of many more bright lights to come.”
Meanwhile, Jackson’s nomination approval by the evenly divided Senate capped a confirmation process that was marked by Republican attempts to paint her as a soft-on-crime activist judge who would legislate from the bench.
However, Jackson who will be the second-youngest justice at 51 years old will join the Supreme Court after serving for nearly a year on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, considered the nation’s second most powerful court.
