President Joe Biden selected Judge Ketanji B. Jackson to be the next United States Supreme Court Justice.
Biden was given the task of selecting a new justice to replace Justice Stephen Breyer. Last month, he announced his resignation. In response to Breyer’s announcement, Biden reiterated his promise that he would select the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, a pledge he made as a candidate for presidentThe South Carolina Democratic Primary is ahead
Jackson, 51, is currently a member of the U. S Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit. Her nomination was reported early Friday morning by CNN, who spoke to a source with knowledge of Biden’s selection.
Jackson was subject to intense scrutiny by the Senate while she was a judge. If confirmed, she will be the most-vetted justice in a generation. She has faced confirmation hearings twice for federal judgeships, and was re-approved by the Senate to occupy a U.S. seat. Sentencing Commission. All three times she received bipartisan approval.
Jackson, who? Considered a progressive choice, has received praises from some lawmakers across both the political aisle, including Sen. Lindsey Graham who is a conservative Republican.
“I think she’s qualified for the job,” Graham recently said. “She has a different philosophy than I do, but it’s been that way the whole time.”
Jackson previously clerked for the justice she is set to replace. If confirmed by Senate, she would be the first federal public Defender to serve on High Court, and the first justice to have criminal defense experience since Thurgood Marshall.
Progressive lawmakers praised the decision.
“The first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court is a former public defender,” Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) said on TwitterReacting to the news. “Our first voice on the Court in its 233 years has a career of standing up for those most in need.”
“I applaud the historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court,” added Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia). “It’s time the federal judiciary reflects the diversity of our country.”
Recent polling shows that while many far-right lawmakers have criticized Biden’s promise to nominate Black women, the majority of Americans support this measure. An Economist/YouGov survey published this week found that 55 percent of respondents support Biden’s pledge, with 67 percent also saying that it’s important for there to be racial diversity on the Supreme Court.
Jackson was considered one the most progressive choicesAccording to a report, Biden was looking at several options. TruthoutMarjorie Cohn, professor Emeritus at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, provides analysis. Jackson is also well-known as having written an opinion about the D.C. Circuit Court rejected a claim by lawyers for former President Donald Trump claiming that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution.
“Presidents are not kings,” Jackson wrote. “They do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control.”
