Pres.. Joe Biden selected Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. A circuit court judge who clerked under outgoing Justice Stephen Breyer, Brown was seen as a logical choice whose path to the bench was paved by career preparation as a federal public defender and Harvard educated lawyer. Se is expected to be confirmed by a slim margin with the possibility of a few Senate Republicans willing to vote favorably.
At 51 Mrs. Jackson would be one of the youngest justices on the high court at just one year older than Amy Coney Barrett, the most recent addition to the exclusive group. Even thought Jackson is more liberal leaning her confirmation would not change the 6-3 conservative majority on the court.
At the White House during her introduction she said to the president, "I am especially grateful for the care you have taken in discharging your constitutional duty with all that is going on in the world today." Biden had promised to made a decision within a month's time and did so a day after a war broke out between Russia and Ukraine.
“As we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I’m here to fulfill my responsibilities under the Constitution to preserve freedom and liberty,” Biden said before introducing his pick.
“For too long our government, our courts, haven’t looked like America. I believe it’s time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation,” added the president.
The nomination and pending confirmation has implications for the mid-term election season as Biden and the Democrats wrestle with waning popularity.
Much has been made about t
he president nominating a Black woman, a historic first, but Brown-Jackson herself kept the attention on her capability to understand and deliver justice.
A public defender, the candidate has a record for fighting for people who are treated as underdogs in society. She talked about having family members serving on both sides of the law. She has an uncle in prison and a brother who works in law enforcement.
Keeping a campaign promise, the nomination comes exactly two years after Biden said he would nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. He garnered the support of South Carolina's James Clyburn after this commitment and his flailing run was revived thereafter.
Sen. Chuck Schumer express his support for Brown Jackson in a statement saying the confirmation hearing would be prompt.