Biden taps Ketanji Brown Jackson as historic U.S. Supreme Court nominee

Reuters | U.S. President Joe Biden has selected federal appellate judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, the White House said on Friday, setting the stage for a confirmation battle in the closely divided Senate.

Biden picked Jackson, 51, for a lifetime job on the nation’s top judicial body to succeed retiring liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, fulfilling a 2020 campaign promise to make the historic appointment. Of the 115 people who have ever served on the Supreme Court, all but 3 have been white, only 2 have been Black and both of those were men.

“Judge Jackson is an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee, and the Senate should move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation,” the White House said in a statement.

Biden sought a nominee with “exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character and unwavering dedication to the rule of law” and who “understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court’s decisions have on the lives of the American people,” the White House added.

Biden, who took office last year, is sagging in opinion polls, with 43 percent of U.S. adults approving of his job performance in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Any political benefit for Biden with the historic nomination could be diluted by the international crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Jackson, who was participating in oral arguments in court on Friday morning, is expected to appear at a White House event with Biden in the afternoon.

If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson would become the sixth woman ever to serve on the court, which currently has 3 female justices. She would join the liberal bloc on an increasingly assertive court that has a 6-3 conservative majority including 3 justices appointed by Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump.

Democratic senators welcomed Jackson’s nomination and pledged to move forward quickly with the confirmation process while they control the chamber. Democrats have said they plan to move the nomination on a timetable similar to the single month that Republicans used for Trump’s third appointee Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020.

“We will begin immediately to move forward on her nomination with the careful, fair and professional approach she and America are entitled to,” said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who chairs the Judiciary Committee that will hold confirmation hearings.

Other contenders for the nomination included J. Michelle Childs, a district court judge in South Carolina and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court.

Jackson, who was raised in Miami and attended Harvard Law School, has a varied legal resume including earlier in her career representing criminal defendants who could not afford a lawyer. She was part of a 3-judge panel that ruled in December against Republican former President Trump’s bid to prevent White House records from being handed over to a congressional panel investigating last year’s Capitol attack.

While Jackson would not change the court’s ideological balance – she would be replacing a fellow liberal – her addition enables Biden to refresh its liberal wing with a much younger jurist who could serve for decades, just as Trump’s 3 relatively young appointees are in a position to do.

The nomination gives Biden a chance to shore up support among women, minorities and liberals ahead of the midterm elections. Biden’s strength among suburban women, seen as a key reason for his victory over Trump, has eroded since taking office last year, worrying his political aides.