Highlights from Senate vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson

With limited debate ahead, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., took to the Senate floor to praise Jackson as one of the most qualified nominees he's ever considered in his 48 years in the Senate and scolded lawmakers for a process he said has been corroded with partisan politics.

"It's distressing, it's disheartening and as a dean of the Senate, it is saddening," Leahy said.

Leahy has participated in 21 Supreme Court confirmation processes, more than any other sitting senator.

"I've long lamented the increase in political gamesmanship packed in our current confirmation process. And many times on this floor I've warned about the dire consequences for our courts and for our democracy at converting our confirmation process into a zero-sum game where one party wins and one party loses," he said, noting that he's more than once voted for Republican judicial nominees.

"To change that game simply requires we have some adults in the room," he said. "We all come here for the United States not to score, headlines or trending tweets, but simply to do our jobs."

Turning back to Biden's nominee, Leahy said Jackson is "the justice we need now -- for the generations to come for our children or grandchildren. For all of us."

"History will remember the votes cast here today," he added.

The Senate has voted 53-47 to limit debate on Judge Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, paving the way for a final confirmation vote later in the afternoon.

A beaming Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who praised Jackson as "worthy" in an emotional soliloquy during her confirmation hearings, presided over the Senate chamber for the cloture vote.

Because the Senate filibuster rule for Supreme Court nominations was modified by Senate Republicans in 2017, Judge Jackson's nomination requires only a simple majority, or 51 senators, in both votes Thursday.

Since her formal nomination 42 days ago, Jackson held one-on-one meetings with 97 senators on Capitol Hill, according to the White House.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer

Vice President Kamala Harris will head to the Capitol later Thursday to preside over the Senate for Judge Jackson's historic confirmation vote.

"This afternoon, with the United States Senate poised to make history by voting for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the United States Supreme Court, the Vice President will travel to the U.S. Capitol. The Vice President believes Judge Jackson will be an exceptional Supreme Court Justice, and she looks forward to presiding over the Senate to mark this important moment," the White House said in a statement.

Harris, the nation's first Black and first female vice president, will announce the final vote for Jackson, the first Black woman to be considered to the Supreme Court and, if confirmed, to sit on the high bench in its 233-year history.

Jackson is expected to watch final speeches and the roll call vote with her family in Washington.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer

Just hours ahead of Judge Jackson’s expected Senate confirmation, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted what he called "judicial activism" as a threat to the court as an institution in remarks on the Senate floor.

"We've seen over and over that when judicial activism triumphs over fidelity to the rule of law, our courts mutate into clumsy proxy battlefields for arguments that belong in this chamber," McConnell said, as Republicans have attempted to characterize Jackson as sympathetic to progressive causes.

The GOP leader, again, slammed Jackson for failing to commit to opposing the Supreme Court's expansion when she was asked about her views of court-packing in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"The solution is for all the justices to stay in their lane. There is one right number of justices who seek to follow the law. The number is nine. Ginsburg said it. Breyer said it. There is one right number of judges who seek to make policy," McConnell said.

Notably, Jackson, in her confirmation hearings, repeated variations of the message that she intends to "stay in my lane," if confirmed to the high court.

McConnell conceded Thursday that Jackson is barreling towards confirmation and pledged that Republicans will recognize her legitimacy as a justice -- seemingly needling Democrats for their handling of Justice Brett Kavanaugh's nomination.

"Nevertheless, our Democratic colleagues are on track to confirm our next supreme Court justice," McConnell said. "And you know what won't happen: Top Republicans will not imply she is illegitimate we will not call for court-packing I won't be joining any mobs outside her new workplace and threatening her by name."

-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin