WASHINGTON (Fwrd Axis) — President Joe Biden celebrated the historic confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court at the White House on Friday, giving him and his administration a rare win in the process.
Biden, Jackson, and Vice President Kamala Harris — the first Black woman to hold the office — entered the South Lawn to cheers and applause from those in attendance, celebrating the history-making moment that will become official when Jackson takes the oath of office in June.
“We all saw the kind of justice she’ll be: fair and impartial, thoughtful, careful, precise, brilliant, a brilliant legal mind with deep knowledge of the law, and a judicial temperament — which was equally important, in my view — that’s calm and in command, and a humility that allows so many Americans to see themselves in Ketanji Brown Jackson,” Biden said.
The President praised Jackson for her strength and poise during the confirmation hearings despite what Biden described as “vile” attacks from the GOP members of the committee, accusing her of being soft on crime, attacking her sentencing record as well as her time as a defense attorney.
“She showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses — poise, poise, composure, patience, and restraint. And, yes, perseverance and even joy,” Biden said.
The Senate confirmed Jackson on Thursday in a 53-47 vote with Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney joining all 50 Democratic caucus members to vote for her to join the Supreme Court.
“So as I take on this new role, I strongly believe that this is a moment in which all Americans can take great pride,” Jackson said. “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. And it is an honor — the honor of a lifetime — for me to have this chance to join the court, to promote the rule of law at the highest level, and to do my part to carry our shared project of democracy and equal justice under law forward into the future.”
Jackson will officially join the court over the summer when Justice Stephen Breyer is expected to step down, giving Biden a major win and allowing him to fulfill a campaign promise of naming the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.
