Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed as first Black woman Supreme Court justice

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice by the Senate, making her the first Black woman to hold the post.

However, there was a slight delay before her confirmation as Republican Senator Rand Paul was absent, and there was a brief break to allow the Senator to arrive for the vote.

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After the delay, Brown Jackson’s appointment was finally confirmed by a 53-47 vote, and took place hours after the Senate cleared a procedural hurdle in a 53-47 vote to proceed to the final stage of the confirmation. 

Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined the Democrats in voting for the appointment of Brown Jackson.

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“The President will immediately be notified of the Senate’s actions,” said a smiling US Vice President Kamala Harris, who presided over the vote, after the confirmation, while Brown Jackson’s supporters applauded the historic moment.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, who nominated the 51-year-old to the Supreme Court, watched the historic vote along with Brown Jackson from the White House.

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The 51-year-old, who formerly served as a federal judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is also the third Black individual to be appointed to the Supreme Court, after Thurgood Marshall in 1967 and his successor, Clarence Thomas in 1991.

However, she won’t be sworn in just yet, and will take the position once Justice Stephen Breyer retires some time in end June or early July this year, at the end of the current Supreme Court session.