Ketanji Brown Jackson, a liberal appeals court judge, won enough support to secure her confirmation to the supreme court on Thursday, overcoming a rancorous Senate approval process to become the first Black woman to serve as a justice on the high court in its more than 200-year history.
After weeks of private meetings and days of public testimony, marked by intense sparring over judicial philosophy and personal reflections on race in America, Jackson’s nomination crossed the 50-vote threshold in the Senate on Thursday afternoon, virtually guaranteeing her confirmation.
Jackson, who currently serves on the US court of appeals for the DC Circuit, will replace Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, the most senior member of the court’s liberal bloc. Breyer, for whom Jackson clerked early in her legal career, said he intends to retire from the court this summer.
At 51, Jackson is young enough to serve on the court for decades. Her ascension, however, will do little to tilt the ideological balance of the high court, dominated by a 6-3 conservative majority.
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