Biden nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be first Black woman to sit on Supreme Court

• President Joe Biden nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
• If confirmed, Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court.

President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court.

"Judge Jackson is one of our nation's brightest legal minds and has an unusual breadth of experience in our legal system, giving her the perspective to be an exceptional Justice," the White House said in a statement announcing Biden's decision.

Friday's move fulfills Biden's 2020 campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court. If confirmed, Jackson would also be only the third Black justice in the court's 232-year history, and would join another Black justice currently on the bench, Clarence Thomas.

The historic Supreme Court pick comes roughly a month after Breyer announced his plans to retire. The 83-year-old liberal justice, a Clinton appointee, has served on the Supreme Court for nearly 28 years and will step down at the end of the current term.

Jackson was favored among progressives who lauded her background as a public defender as important professional diversity experience for the court. She currently sits on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, a seat that Biden nominated her for a year ago. Previously, Jackson served on the DC federal district court for seven years.

The 51-year-old judge was born in Washington, DC, and grew up in Miami, Florida. She attended Harvard University for both her undergraduate and law degrees and served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review.

Jackson's career kicked off with a series of federal clerkships, including one with Breyer on the Supreme Court in 1999. Her resume also boasts a wide range of experience in the legal industry with stints in private practice and on the US Sentencing Commission.

Senate Democratic leaders have said they plan to move quickly to advance Biden's nominee, who only needs a simple majority vote to get confirmed to the court. If no Republicans support Jackson, then all 50 Democrats will need to be on board so Vice President Kamala Harris can cast the tie-breaking vote for her confirmation.

Jackson's appointment will not change the court's 6-3 conservative majority, but will maintain its ideological balance.

Democrats to 'immediately' move forward on Jackson's confirmation

Democrats on Friday celebrated Biden's nomination and expressed confidence in Jackson, whereas some Republicans struck a more cautious tone.

"Biden has chosen an extraordinary nominee," said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Jackson will appear before for her confirmation process. "To be the first to make history in our nation you need to have an exceptional life story."

"We will begin immediately to move forward on her nomination with the careful, fair, and professional approach she and America are entitled to," he added.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Democrat in the upper chamber, said Jackson "will uphold the constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and vulnerable," adding that she is a "true public servant and model jurist."

GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah called Jackson an "experienced jurist" whose nomination "will inspire many," while adding that he plans to thoroughly examine her record.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell congratulated Jackson on her nomination, and said he looks forward to "carefully reviewing" her record.

"The Senate must conduct a rigorous, exhaustive review of Judge Jackson's nomination as befits a lifetime appointment to our highest Court," said the Kentucky Republican, who voted against Jackson's confirmation to her current position less than a year ago.

By contrast, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham didn't hold back when it came to Jackson's selection, saying this "means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again."

A history-making moment

Biden's decision last month to pick a Black woman to serve on the court was widely embraced by Democrats and some Republicans, with a few exceptions. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said the move was "offensive" and "an insult to Black women," and Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said Biden's nominee would be a "beneficiary" of affirmative action.

The White House repeatedly defended Biden's choice against attacks and vowed to nominate a Black woman from a pool of "eminently qualified" individuals with the "strongest records, intellect, character, and dedication to the rule of law that anyone could ask for."

Biden deliberated over a shortlist rumored to include Jackson, South Carolina federal district judge J. Michelle Childs, and California Supreme Court justice Leondra Kruger. Graham and Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn, both of South Carolina, publicly heaped praise on Childs. But the White House did not tease which contender Biden was leaning toward in the lead-up to the nomination.

The president did make clear, however, that he was consulting with both Democrats and Republicans about his pick in the hopes of attaining a bipartisan confirmation vote.

Republicans have signaled that they do not anticipate the forthcoming confirmation hearings for Biden's nominee to descend into the heated and bitter battles that took place over President Donald Trump's picks. Yet given those divisive confirmation hearings, which included sexual assault allegations against Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 and Senate Republicans advancing Amy Coney Barrett to the court just eight days before the 2020 election, it's less likely Biden's nominee will be confirmed with overwhelming Republican support.

Jackson is expected to face confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court just under a year from when she was considered for a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. For that spot, only three Republicans — Graham, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — voted with Democrats to confirm her.