The Senate’s historic vote was 53-47, and three Republicans – Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah – joined every member of the Democratic caucus in voting for her confirmation.
President Joe Biden nominated Jackson in February following Associate Justice Stephen Breyer’s announcement that he would be retiring at the end of this court term. Though confirmed, Jackson, 51, will wait months to take her seat on the bench until Breyer officially steps down.
Though Jackson’s ascension will not change the ideological makeup of the court – where Conservatives are currently holding on to a 6-3 advantage – she will be the first federal public defender to sit on the high court. Of the 115 justices in the Supreme Court’s 233-year history, 108 have been white men. Only five have been women, and three have been people of color.
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When Jackson takes her seat, it will be the first time the court’s nine-member bench will include two Black justices as well as four female justices.
” Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation,” President Biden congratulated in a tweet following the vote. “We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to serve in her role, presided over the Senate for the vote. Most of the senators were in their seats, announcing their vote aloud one-by-one alphabetically, followed by Harris, who read out the final tally to the packed chamber.
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The chamber erupted in cheers after Harris announced the vote. “It’s an extraordinary day, and I think it’s a very important statement today about who we are as a nation that we put Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the highest court of our land,” a “very proud” Harris said after the vote.
“I think it makes a very important statement about who we aspire to be, who we are, who we believe ourselves to be,” she said. “It’s a statement that on our highest court in the land, we want to make sure there’s going to be full representation and the finest and the brightest and the best, and that’s what happened today.”
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