Senate Confirms Key Biden Nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson To D.C. Court Of Appeals

On Monday, President Joe Biden‘s judicial nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed by the Senate to fill a vacancy on the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Previously, she served at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She was also assistant federal public defender, vice chair for the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and clerk to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. In 2013, she was former President Barack Obama‘s nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is considered a breeding ground for potential Supreme Court justices.

She is best known for her ruling in 2019, in which she opined that former White House Counsel Don McGahn should comply with a congressional subpoena asking that he address Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted with their Democratic colleagues to confirm Jackson. The vote was 53-44.

Jackson will fill Merrick Garland‘s seat. In March, the Senate confirmed Garland as Biden’s attorney general.

“She is qualified,” Graham told reporters. “I think I try to be somewhat consistent here. I think she’s qualified for the job.”