It is a moment that took 46 days —and more than 46 years— to consummate.
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, was preparing to celebrate on Friday the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the first black woman to join the highest court in the country. For her, it is the pinnacle of her career in law; for him, it is her return to the origin of her political history.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden witnessed from the front row some of the most contentious confirmations in the Court’s history, including hearings for Judge Stephen Breyer, whose retirement in the coming months paves the way for Jackson’s entry. .
“This is a tremendously historic journey for the White House and the country, and the fulfillment of a promise from the president to the country,” said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. She added that her long tenure on the Judiciary Committee gave Biden “historically exceptional preparation” to place a member of the Court.
By running Jackson, Biden fulfilled his campaign promise to place the first black woman in an all-white judicial body for nearly two centuries that declared his race unworthy of citizenship and endorsed segregation.
He also chose a lawyer who will be the first public defender to come to the Court and also has the elite training of other judges, a graduate of Harvard Law School and an intern for judges like Breyer himself.
Although Jackson’s entry will not change the ideological makeup of the court, with six conservative and three liberal judges, Biden considers it a historic event. He appointed her on the second anniversary of his promise, in the South Carolina presidential primary, to elect a black woman to the Court. In doing so, she revived a flagging campaign and paved her way to the White House.
“We have taken a new step to make our Highest Court reflect the diversity of America,” Biden tweeted Thursday after posing for a selfie with his appointee. “She will be an incredible judge and I am honored to share this moment with her,” she said.
Jackson had followed the development of the vote in the Senate along with Biden on TV in a White House room and the two held hands when his confirmation was finalized.
“History doesn’t happen by accident, it gets made,” said chief of staff Ron Klain. In an interview on the MSNBC channel, he highlighted that the vote in the Senate was chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, the first black woman to hold the position, also chosen by Biden.
Over half a century in Washington, Biden has played a leading role in assembling the Court, from inside and outside the Senate, but this was his first opportunity to select a justice.
Perhaps that opportunity will not be repeated. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in an interview Thursday, declined to commit to holding confirmation hearings on a future Biden run for the Court if the GOP regains a majority in 2023.
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