Ketanji Brown Jackson Makes History as the First Black Female US Supreme Court Justice

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Ketanji Brown Jackson, a 51 year-old federal appeals court judge, today became the first black woman on the high court and the third black justice of the US Supreme Court.

The US Senate voted 53-47 to confirm Jackson to the Supreme Court, with three Republicans, Sens. Mitt Romney, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting with all Democrats.

Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the Senate and banged the gavel to declare the final vote count and seal Jackson’s confirmation, as Democrats throughout the Senate chamber broke out in raucous applause.  

President Biden watched the vote tally come in with Jackson in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Photos showed them holding hands and excitedly hugging as enough votes came in to confirm Jackson’s nomination.

Jackson is replacing liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, who had come under intense pressure from progressives to retire while Democrats still hold the White House, House and Senate and let someone younger step in. 

Jackson joins two other Democrat-appointed justices, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, on the 6-3 conservative-dominated court. She will be sworn in during the summer recess, when Breyer officially steps down.