Highlights from Senate vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson
The Senate voted 53-47 in a bipartisan vote on Jackson's nomination.
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.
Here is how the day developed:
Jackson nods to her family in hearing room
After thanking her parents, siblings, husband and in-laws for being in the hearing room to support her, Jackson reserved a "special moment" in her introduction to thank her daughters, Talia, 21, and Leila, 17.
"Girls, I know it has not been easy as I have tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood. And I fully admit that I did not always get the balance right, but I hope that you have seen that with hard work, determination and love, it can be done," she said.
"I am so looking forward to seeing what each of you chooses to do with your amazing lives in this incredible country. I love you so much," Jackson added.
Jackson's husband, Patrick, a general surgeon, was seen wiping away tears in the chamber as Jackson spoke.
Jackson thanks God in opening statement
Ketanji Brown Jackson in her opening remarks said she wanted to "reaffirm my thanks to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment. Even prior to today, I can honestly say that my life had been blessed beyond measure."
With her parents looking on, Jackson addressed how her parents "experienced lawful racial segregation first-hand" and moved from Miami to Washington, D.C. before she was born.
"My parents taught me that, unlike the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer, such that if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be," she said. "Like so many families in this country, they worked long hours and sacrificed to provide their children every opportunity to reach their God-given potential. My parents have been married for 54 years, and they are here with me today; I cannot possibly thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me."
KBJ’s former Harvard roommate introduces her personal side
Judge Jackson's second introducer, professor Lisa Fairfax of the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, was her roommate for most of college and law school at Harvard University and spoke to Jackson's personal side.
Fairfax described Jackson as a “sister” and “the friend that makes sure we all belong too.”
“She showed us how by the power of her example of hard work, preparation, and excellence that transformed the seemingly impossible into the achievable,” she said, calling her the “rock” of their friend group.
“We knew early on she could be anything she chose to be, but also that she seemed destined to be a judge because of her ability to see all sides,” she continued. “Above all, Ketanji is humble enough not to pretend she knows how to have it all, but she does know how to give it all. What she gives to her family, her friends, she also gives to the law -- and this country.”
Republican-nominated judge stresses Jackson is 'an independent jurist'
Ketanji Brown Jackson's first introducer, Judge Thomas Griffith, formerly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was nominated by a Republican. He introduced Jackson on Monday and told the Senate Judiciary Committee, "Although we did not always agree on that outcome the law required, I respected her diligent and careful approach, her deep understanding and her collegial manner."
Griffith often reviewed Jackson’s decisions as a trial judge while he served on the Court of Appeals and wrote to the Senate Judiciary Committee last month in support of Jackson's confirmation.
Griffith called Jackson "an independent jurist who adjudicates based on the facts and the law and not as a partisan. Time and again she has demonstrated that impartiality."