U.S. President Joe Biden announced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to the Supreme Court seat left vacant after Justice Stephen Breyer’s departure.
“For too long, our courts haven’t looked like America,” Biden said in a White House speech on February 25. “It’s time that we have a Court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications.”
Jackson expressed her gratitude to President Biden and Vice President Harris at the announcement, saying she was “humbled” by the nomination to the Supreme Court.
“My life has been blessed beyond measure, and I do know that one can only come this far by faith,” she said. “God has delivered me to this point in my professional journey. The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known.”
At the announcement, Jackson spoke of how her father became her first role model as she watched him study to be a high school teacher. She also noted her brother’s experience in law enforcement and the Army, where he served in the Middle East.
Jackson said she has one uncle serving a life sentence for a drug conviction, but noted “law enforcement also runs in [her] family” and says she has two uncles who served as police officers, one of whom was a police chief.
Whip for the Majority James Clyburn, who pushed for J. Michelle Childs to be appointed to the Supreme Court, expressed support for the Biden’s nominee.
“This is a glass ceiling that took far too long to shatter, and I commend President Biden for taking a sledgehammer to it,” he said. “I congratulate Judge Jackson and offer my full support during the confirmation process and beyond.”
Clyburn noted Biden’s pledge in 2019 that, if given the opportunity, “he would name a Black woman to the Supreme Court.”
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, speaking before Biden officially made his pick on Friday, said Brown’s selection would show the “radical left” has won, Fox News reports.
“If media reports are accurate, and Judge Jackson has been chosen as the Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Breyer, it means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again,” Graham said.
In a statement, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, who voted against Jackson’s confirmation, congratulated Jackson on her nomination. However, he said he looks forward to meeting with her in person and studying her record, legal views, and judicial philosophy.
“Senate Republicans believe the Court and the country deserve better than Senate Democrats’ routine of baseless smears and shameless distortions,” McConnell said.
“The Senate must conduct a rigorous, exhaustive review of Judge Jackson’s nomination as befits a lifetime appointment to our highest Court. This is especially crucial as American families face major crises that connect directly to our legal system, such as skyrocketing violent crime and open borders.”