WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 28: Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated to be a U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, is sworn in to testify before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations on Capitol Hill, April 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. The committee is holding the hearing on pending judicial nominations. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque-Pool/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden named D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court on Friday morning.
With the selection, Biden made good on his promise to nominate a black woman to the nation’s highest court by the end of the month.
Last year, Biden nominated Jackson to the second-highest court, the D.C. Court of Appeals, and she was confirmed 53-44 in June while garnering some support from Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). The position made her a favorite to become Biden’s nominee as many Supreme Court justices held the position before being nominated to the Supreme Court.
Jackson’s background working in public service makes her a unique candidate. Prior to being confirmed as a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, she worked as an assistant public defender, as the Obama-appointed vice-chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission working to shorten sentences of those serving time for the drug-related crime and spent eight years as a federal district judge in D.C. Right after graduation from Harvard Law School, Jackson clerked for Justice Bryer.
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“Because of her diverse and broad public service, Judge Jackson has a unique appreciation of how critical it is for the justice system to be fair and impartial. With multiple law enforcement officials in her family, she also has a personal understanding of the stakes of the legal system,” said a statement from the White House.
Jackson is seen as fundamentally more left-leaning than her potential predecessor, as Breyer was known for his pragmatic views. If confirmed, she will join Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan on the liberal wing. Jackson is known for authoring an objection to former President Donald Trump‘s claims of executive privilege over dealings with Ukraine in 2019. She also denied Trump’s effort to block his administration’s records to be released to the House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Biden and Jackson are expected to appear together at the White House at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon to formally announce the nomination.
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