On Thursday, the Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, making her the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court.Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined Democrats in voting yes.
The confirmation is a significant victory for Democrats, which they can claim as bipartisan, and a way for the President to follow through on a campaign promise at a time when the US is grappling with a number of domestic and international challenges, including soaring inflation and the Ukraine crisis. When the vote was givenled, Democrats erupted in joy and cheers.
The vote is also a watershed moment for the Supreme Court and the federal courts, while Jackson's confirmation will not alter the court's ideological balance.In her capacity as Senate president, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman elected to the position, presided over the historic vote.
After Justice Stephen Breyer steps down later this summer, Jackson will be sworn in.The nomination's historic nature has been repeatedly emphasized by Senate Democrats and the White House.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described the occasion as a "joyous, magnificent, groundbreaking day" before of the final vote.
Continuing, Schumer stated, "Never, ever has a Black woman held the position of Justice on the Supreme Court in its 233-year history. Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first, and I feel that he will be the first of many."
If elected, Biden pledged to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court during his 2020 presidential campaign.
Jackson grew noticeably emotional during her Senate confirmation hearings, wiping away tears when Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, one of only three Black senators, discussed her road to the nomination and the challenges she faced."My parents grew up at a time in this country when Black children and White children were not allowed to attend the same school," Jackson said Booker after the senator inquired about the ideals instilled in her by her parents. "They instilled in me the importance of putting in a lot of effort. They instilled in me the ability to stick it out. They instilled in me the belief that in this beautiful country, anything is possible."For the historic vote, the Senate chamber was filled, with the majority of senators seated at their desks.
As a result, the vote moved rapidly at first, but was later postponed when it became evident that Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul was the sole senator who had not cast a vote. Before it was givenled closed, the chamber awaited his arrival and vote.
Legislators and those in the gallery were agitated as they awaited Paul's arrival. A number of members of the Congressional Black Caucus had come over from the House to witness the vote, and several Democratic senators began speaking with them.
Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma voted in the GOP cloakroom because they were not wearing ties on the Senate floor, as required by Senate rules. Graham was dressed conservatively in a blazer and quarter zip. He drew back into the cloakroom and pressed his thumb down to vote no.The nominee passed a major procedural obstacle earlier Thursday, when the Senate voted to restrict discussion and end a filibuster, paving the way for a final confirmation vote.
Senate Democrats have commended Jackson as an extremely qualified, trailblazing nominee whose depth and breadth of experience, including as a federal public defender, would provide a vital and distinctive perspective to the bench throughout the Senate vetting process.
Before Biden appointed her to the DC Circuit last year, Jackson was a commissioner on the US Sentencing Commission and a federal district court judge in Washington, DC, as an Obama appointee.
Republicans grilled Jackson during his confirmation hearings, attempting to depict him as weak on crime and, in a particularly inflammatory line of attack, overly lenient in child pornography cases. The allegations were met with vehement denial from Jackson and Democrats.
As a judge and an American, Jackson emphasized the importance of public safety and theRepublicans demanded decorum and respect during the nomination hearings, claiming that Democrats failed to do so during Brett Kavanaugh's Senate screening process. Kavanaugh was accused of sexual assault, which he categorically denied.
Democrats, on the other hand, claimed that Republicans went too far in distorting Jackson's record, particularly when it came to punishment in child pornography cases.
According to a CNN analysis of the evidence, Jackson mainly followed standard judicial sentencing guidelines in these types of situations. rule of law. She also said that she tackles her work objectively, with no personal bias.Murkowski and Collins voiced concern about the politics of the Supreme Court confirmation process when they announced their support for the nomination.
In a statement, Murkowski said she opposes "the corrosive partisanship of the Supreme Court nominations review process, which, on both sides of the aisle, is growing worse and more removed from reality by the year."
"Anyone who has observed several of the recent Supreme Court nomination hearings would come to the conclusion that the process is broken," Collins said in her statement.
"It used to be customary for Senators to accord the President substantial deference in the selection of a nominee, regardless of political party," Collins said.
"This is the approach that I plan to continue to use for Supreme Court nominations because it runs counter to the disturbing trend of politicizing the judicial nomination process," the Maine Republican said, adding, "it instilled confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary and helped keep the Court above the political fray."
Additional developments on Thursday have been added to this story and headline.
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