Highlights from Senate vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson

The Senate voted 53-47 in a bipartisan vote on Jackson's nomination.

Last Updated: April 7, 2022, 5:29 PM EDT

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in its 233-year history, was confirmed by the Senate in a 53-47 vote Thursday.

She got three Republican votes, marking a bipartisan victory for President Joe Biden and his high court nominee.

Mar 23, 2022, 2:45 PM EDT

Jackson continues to lay out federal guidelines for child porn sentences

Continuing a familiar attack line for Republicans on the committee, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also tried to drill down on Judge Jackson's sentences for child pornography offenders, raising the case of a defendant who use a computer to access images, but Jackson, again, defended her record and laid out how she approaches the cases.

Nevertheless, Lee still said he has "grave concerns" about her record.

Sen. Mike Lee questions U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

"Senator, as in every child pornography case that I sentenced, I considered all of the evidence, all of the relevant factors. It is not the same exercise to look at a transcript, to think about guidelines, to not have in front of you the individuals, the victims, the pictures, the circumstances that trial judges have to review in these cases or any cases," she said.

In addition to evidence and recommendations, she reminded, again, that courts have "under Congress' authority, the responsibility of using our judgment to make determinations that are 'sufficient but not greater than necessary' to comply with the purposes or promote the purposes of punishment, taking into account things like unwarranted sentencing disparities."

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during the third day of a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2022.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Because the federal sentencing guidelines for child pornography offenses were drafted before the internet age, Jackson has argued judges can't only look at the number of lewd images when handing down sentences but have several other factors to evaluate.

"It may seem like an easy exercise. It may seem in retrospect when you look back at a few pieces of data, that courts have not done what it is that they're supposed to do, but what I can assure you, is that I took every one of these cases seriously in my duty and responsibility as a judge -- and I made my determinations in light of the seriousness of the offense, the nature and circumstances of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, the need for the sentence imposed to promote various purposes of punishment and all of the other factors that Congress prescribes," she said.

Mar 23, 2022, 1:55 PM EDT

This is the 'real Ketanji,' former clerks say of Wednesday's emotive performance

The Senate Judiciary Committee took a 30-minute break for lunch as Judge Jackson undergoes another round of all-day questions.

ABC News Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer, reporting from inside the hearing room, characterized Jackson's demeanor on Wednesday as "emotive, confident and tough."

Though she told the committee in her opening that she hadn't had much sleep, she has been frequently gesturing, flashing a smile, and a roll of the eyes, appearing more comfortable in her seat.

Several of her former clerks told Dwyer that Wednesday's performance is the "real Ketanji."

Mar 23, 2022, 1:49 PM EDT

Jackson refuses to give opinion on court-packing

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, tried to get Judge Jackson to give her opinion on whether to expand the Supreme Court, but as she has previously, Jackson refused to enter the debate and called it a "political question," not a judicial one.

"It couldn't and would never come before you," Lee said. "Last night when you were asked a question by my colleague, Senator Kennedy, on this, you acknowledged that you have an opinion -- did I understand that right? You have an opinion on court-packing?"

"Senator, I have a lot of opinions," Jackson replied. "I'm a human being, and I have an opinion on a lot of things. The reason why, in my view, it is not appropriate for me to comment is because of my fidelity to the judicial role. I understand it's a political question and that is precisely why I think that I am uncomfortable speaking to it."

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during the third day of a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 23, 2022.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Lee repeated that the issue wouldn’t go before the court and said her perspective on it would be "valuable," before moving on.

Mar 23, 2022, 1:31 PM EDT

Schumer sits in the hearing room

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who was a longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sat down at the gallery behind Judge Jackson on Wednesday afternoon to witness Biden's nominee in action.

Welcoming him to the room, Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that Schumer "would report, if he could, that we have a challenge to finish our hearing today at a time when we can go to the floor for a series of votes which will end the day" -- in a sign the hearings were entering the homestretch.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attends the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, March 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In earlier floor remarks, Schumer praised Jackson for what he called a "master class" before the Senate Judiciary Committee and said he expects her to "reach final confirmation" before the end of the work period, which would keep Democrats on track to meet their goal of confirmation before Easter.

"At times the judge also displayed one of her greatest traits: her grace and poise, even when Republicans asked intentionally misleading questions," Schumer said on the Senate floor. "Republicans tried to land a blow but judge Jackson kept her cool."

Patrick Jackson, the husband of Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, wears socks featuring former President John F. Kennedy, as his wife testifies during her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, March 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Inside the hearing room, Jackson's family was also seated behind her, as they've been in the proceedings days, to support her through the confirmation process. Her husband, Patrick, a general surgeon, was again spotted taking copious notes and donning John F. Kennedy-themed socks, after sporting a Benjamin Franklin-themed pair Tuesday.

-ABC News' Trish Turner and Allison Pecorin

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