The cheers echoed in the Senate as Jackson, a 51-year-old federal judge with nine years of experience on the federal bench, was confirmed 53-47, mostly along party lines, but with three Republican votes.  The vote was chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, also the first black woman to reach her high office.
Biden later wrote on Twitter that “we have taken another step to make our supreme court reflect the diversity of America.”  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Sumer expressed joy that it was “a wonderful day, a happy day, a day of inspiration – for the Senate, for the Supreme Court and for the United States of America.”
Harris said as she left the Capitol that she was “delighted, deeply moved”.
Jackson will take her place when Judge Stephen Breyer retires this summer, strengthening the Liberal wing of the Conservative-dominated court 6-3.  She joined Biden in the White House to watch the vote, hugged as she entered.  The two were expected to speak with Harris at the White House on Friday.
During a four-day Senate hearing last month, Jackson spoke of her parents’ struggles through racial segregation, saying “her course was clearer” than theirs as a Black American after the passage of political laws. rights.  He studied at Harvard University, served as a public defender, worked in a private law firm, and was appointed a member of the U.S. Convict Committee.
He told senators he would enforce the law “without fear or favor” and dismissed Republicans’ efforts to present it as too lenient with the criminals he had convicted.
Jackson will be just the third black judge, after Thergood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, and the sixth woman.  He will join three other women, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett – meaning four of the nine judges will be women for the first time in history.
Her eventual appearance in court will be a respite for Democrats who fought three fierce battles for former President Donald Trump’s candidates and watched Republicans consolidate a conservative majority in the final days of Trump’s presidency.  Although Jackson will not change the balance, he will secure a legacy in court for Biden and will fulfill his 2020 campaign to appoint the first black woman justice.
“This is a very historic day for the White House and for the country,” said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki after the vote.  “And this is a fulfillment of a promise made by the president to the country.”
The atmosphere was happy, although the Senate was divided as Thursday’s vote took place.  The senators of both parties sat at their desks and stood to vote, a tradition intended for the most important issues.  The upper galleries were almost full for the first time since the pandemic began two years ago, and about a dozen members of Congress, part of the congressional Black parliamentary group, were standing in the back of the room.
Harris shouted the report, stopping with emotion, and Democrats erupted in loud applause and cheers as Sumer slapped his fists.  A handful of Republicans stayed and applauded, but most had left by then.
Despite Republican criticism of her record, Jackson eventually won three GOP votes.  The final report was far from overwhelming bipartisan confirmations of Breyer and other judges over the past decades, but it was another major achievement for Biden in the 50-50 Senate as GOP senators worked aggressively to characterize Jackson. as overly liberal and soft on crime.  .
Statements by Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah all said the same thing – they may not always agree with Jackson, but they found him highly qualified for the job.  Collins and Murkowski both denounced both increasingly partisan battles for confirmation, which only worsened during the battles for Trump’s three options.  Collins said the process was “broken” and Murkowski described it as “corrosive” and “more out of touch with reality every year”.
Biden, a veteran of a more bipartisan Senate, said from the day Breyer announced his departure in January that he wanted support from both parties for his candidate who made history and called Republicans into the White House as he made his decision.  It was an attempt to bring back Trump’s presidency, when Democrats strongly opposed the three candidates, and from the end of President Barack Obama, when Republicans blocked candidate Merrick Garland from voting.
Once sworn in, Jackson will be the second youngest member of the court after Barrett, 50.  It will take place in a court where no one is yet 75 years old, the first time this has happened in almost 30 years.
Jackson’s first term will be marked by racial issues, both in college admissions and voting rights.  He has vowed not to consider the court’s Harvard admission program, as he is a member of its board of supervisors.  But the court could separate a second case that challenged the admission process to the University of North Carolina, which could allow it to look into the matter.
Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement Project, a civil rights group, said Jackson would make the court more reflective in the communities most affected by the judiciary.
“The country’s highest court will now have a first-hand perspective on how the law affects colored communities – through voting rights, police misconduct, abortion access, housing discrimination or criminal justice.” system, among other issues, “he said.  “This will ultimately benefit all Americans.”
Jackson could wait up to three months to be sworn in, as the court hearing generally ends in late June or early July.  He remains a judge in the federal court of appeal in Washington, but resigned from the case there when he was appointed in February.
Republicans went through the confirmation hearings, strongly questioning the history of her sentence, including the sentences she imposed on child pornography cases, which she said were too light.  Jackson stated that “nothing could be further from the truth” and explained in detail her reasoning.  Democrats said she agreed with other judges in her decisions.
The GOP inquiry into the Justice Committee showed the views of many Republicans, however, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said in a speech Wednesday that Jackson “has never been tough in this area.”
Democrats criticized the Republican interrogation.
“You could try to create a straw man here, but it’s not true,” New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker said in a committee vote earlier this week.  The committee reached an impasse over the candidacy with 11-11, but the Senate voted to dismiss her from the committee and proceeded to confirm it.
In a passionate moment during the hearing last month, Booker, who is black, told Jackson that he was moved to see her testify.  She said she saw “my ancestors and yours” in her picture.
“Do not worry, my sister,” Booker said.  “Do not worry. God has taken you. And how do I know that? Because you are here, and I know what it took to sit in that seat.”
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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Farnoush Amiri in Washington and Aaron Morrison in New York contributed to this report.