All 50 members of the Democratic caucus in the Senate are united behind the ballot, and three Republicans – Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – have also announced their support. Jackson’s confirmation will not change the court’s ideological balance. The court currently has six Conservative judges and three Liberal judges – and retired Judge Stephen Breyer is from the Liberal camp. But the confirmation will continue to mark an important historical milestone for the Supreme Court and federal justice. Ahead of the final vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Sumer described the moment as “a happy, significant, groundbreaking day.” “The Senate will fulfill its constitutional duty to finally confirm this remarkable and groundbreaking law,” he said. Schumer went on to say, “In the 233-year history of the Supreme Court, no black woman has ever held the title of Justice. Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first and I believe the first of all to follow.” The confirmation will represent a victory for Democrats, who can be touted as bipartisan, and a way for the president to deliver on a campaign promise at a time when the party faces a number of challenges at home and abroad, including his ouster. inflation and the crisis in Ukraine. Biden had said during his 2020 election campaign that he had pledged to nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court if elected. “If I am elected President and have the opportunity to appoint someone to the courts, I will appoint the first black woman to the court. They need to be represented now – it is too late,” Biden said in March 2020. At one point during the Senate confirmation hearing, Jackson became visibly emotional and could see herself wiping away tears as Democratic Sen. Corey Booker of New Jersey, one of only three black senators, spoke. for her path to the candidacy and the obstacles she had to overcome. “My parents grew up in a country where black children and white children were not allowed to go to school together,” Jackson told Booker after the senator asked what values her parents impressed her with. “They taught me hard work. They taught me perseverance. They taught me that anything is possible in this great country.”
Confirmation procedure
Throughout the Senate oversight process, Senate Democrats praised Jackson as a highly qualified, outstanding candidate whose depth and breadth of experience, including the federal ombudsman, would add a valuable and unique perspective to the bench. Jackson also served as a commissioner on the U.S. Conviction Committee and served on the federal district court in DC as a nominee for former President Barack Obama before Biden promoted her to the DC Circuit last year. Confirmation hearings included sharp and critical questions from Republicans, as many sought to portray Jackson as weak in crime and, in a heavy line of attack, very lenient in convicting child pornography cases. Jackson and the Democrats vehemently denied the allegations. Jackson has expressed concern for public safety and the rule of law, both as a judge and as an American. And she argued that she approaches her work in an impartial manner and that personal views do not matter. Republicans called for courtesy and respect at confirmation hearings, saying Democrats did not extend it to Brett Cavanaugh during the Senate hearing. Cavanaugh faced a charge of sexual assault, which he categorically denied. Democrats, however, have argued that Republicans have gone too far in distorting Jackson’s record, particularly when it comes to convictions in child pornography cases. A review of this material by CNN shows that Jackson followed most commonly convicted court practices in such cases.
Jackson wins GOP support
Announcing their support for the candidacy, Murkowski and Collins both expressed concern about what they described as the politicization of the Supreme Court confirmation process. Murkowski said she rejects “the corrosive politicization of the review process for Supreme Court candidates, which, on both sides of the aisle, is becoming more and more detached from reality over time,” in her statement. Collins said in a statement, “Regardless of where you fall into the ideological spectrum, anyone who has attended several of the Supreme Court’s recent confirmation hearings will conclude that the process is broken.” “Senators used to give the president, regardless of political party, considerable respect for the choice of a candidate,” Collins said. The Maine Republican said that this approach “instilled confidence in the independence and integrity of the judiciary and helped keep the Court above the political dispute,” adding, “This is the approach I intend to continue to use for the nominations. “Supreme Court, because it runs counter to the worrying trend of politicizing the process of appointing judges.” This story and title have been updated with additional developments on Thursday. CNN’s Maegan Vazquez and Tierney Sneed contributed to this report.
