It was with emotion and awareness of the deep historical significance of the moment that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson marked her confirmation to the Supreme Court, alongside President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Friday.
“I—I am the dream and the hope of the slave,” Jackson told an applauding crowd. “So, as I take on this new role, I strongly believe that this is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride. We have come a long way toward perfecting our union. In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.”
Jackson was confirmed 53-47 on Thursday, with three Republicans joining Democrats. She will be not sworn in immediately, since Justice Stephen Breyer is expected to finish out the remainder of the Supreme Court term this summer before he retires.
Friday’s ceremony gave the White House the opportunity to publicly celebrate the moment before she takes her seat on the bench in the fall. Mr. Biden, Jackson and Harris all reveled in what Jackson’s confirmation represents. The president embraced the opportunity to select a justice who reflected the country, noting that she would be an example for others: “Look, it’s a powerful thing when people can see themselves in others.”
Harris, the first woman and first woman of color to be vice president, presided over Jackson’s Senate confirmation vote and praised her confirmation Friday.
“President George Washington once referred to America as a great experiment, a nation founded on the previously untested belief that the people — we, the people — could form a more perfect union,” Harris said. “And that belief has pushed our nation forward for generations. And it is that belief that we reaffirmed yesterday — through the confirmation of the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.”
“About time,” Mr. Biden chimed in from the stage.
Mr. Biden said Friday that nominating a Black woman to the highest court was one of the first decisions he made as a presidential candidate, but he knew the confirmation process would be brutal. The president praised Jackson as “precise” and “brilliant,” in the face of harsh questioning by some Republican senators.
“I could see it — I could see it as a day of hope, a day of promise, a day of progress,” he said. But he continued, “I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I knew the person I nominated would be put through a painful and difficult confirmation process. But I have to tell you, what Judge Jackson was put through was well beyond that.”
KEVIN LAMARQUE / REUTERS
She noted that in the course of her Senate confirmation process, she had 95 personal meetings “with 97 sitting senators, and we had substantive and engaging conversations about my approach to judging.”
On Friday, the president singled out and thanked the three Republicans who voted for Jackson, saying they deserve “enormous credit” for setting aside partisanship. GOP Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitt Romney voted for her confirmation.
“I truly admire and respect the diligence and hard work they demonstrated in the course of the process,” Mr. Biden said.
Jackson, in her remarks, thanked those who helped her along the way to being the first Black woman to be a Supreme Court justice. Her family, senators who voted for her, Cabinet members, and key leaders in the House attended the White House event.
“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States,” she said. “But we’ve made it!”
Jackson’s appointment to the high court as the nation’s 116th justice is likely to be a significant component of Mr. Biden’s legacy and marked his first opportunity to make his imprint on the high court.
“Judge Jackson’s confirmation was a historic moment for our nation,” Mr. Biden tweeted after the Senate vote. “We’ve taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America. She will be an incredible Justice, and I was honored to share this moment with her.”
