April 7 (UPI) — Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s first nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court and the first Black woman ever put up for the high court bench, is expected to win confirmation in the Senate on Thursday.
Jackson, 51, was nominated in February and has met privately with various senators over the past few weeks. Last month, she underwent questioning for two days before the Senate judiciary committee — where some Republicans grilled her on her track record and accused her of being soft on crime as a judge.
The committee ultimately passed Jackson’s nomination on to the full Senate. The chamber is scheduled to vote on her nomination at 1:45 p.m. EDT Thursday.
“It will be a joyous day. Joyous for the Senate, joyous for the Supreme Court, joyous for America,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday, according to ABC News.
Jackson, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, needs only a simple majority of 51 votes for confirmation.
Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — have already said they will vote for her, virtually assuring that she will succeed Justice Stephen Breyer when he retires in June.
“My support rests on Judge Jackson’s qualifications, which no one questions,” Murkowski said in a statement. “Her demonstrated judicial independence; her demeanor and temperament; and the important perspective she would bring to the court.”
The judiciary committee deadlocked on Jackson’s nomination, at 11 on each side, which sent the matter to the full Senate, which voted 53-47 to put her final confirmation up for a vote.
Jackson’s confirmation would maintain the Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative edge. The last justice nominated and confirmed to the high court was Amy Coney Barrett in 2020. She was appointed by former President Donald Trump to succeed liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
