On Feb. 25, President Biden nominated judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Brown Jackson, confirmed April 7, becomes the first ever Black woman to preside on the Court in its 233-year history.  

After a month-long deliberation, the Senate decided Brown Jackson is fit to serve alongside the two other Democratic and six Republican justices on the Court. The Senate Judiciary Committee, through whom the vote must pass in order to continue into the full Senate chamber, was in a deadlocked vote entering this week, with the jurors evenly split: 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans voting yes and no respectively.  

A full Senate vote occurred Thursday, April 7, and Brown Jackson’s confirmation in the Senate was expected. Three Republican Senators, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah announced their support for Brown Jackson, ultimately guaranteeing her confirmation in the 100-member chamber of 50 Republicans, 48 Democrats and 2 Independents (who both caucus with the Democrats). 

While Brown Jackson is the first Black woman on the Court, her list of qualifications is extensive. She graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, was a public defender, was the Vice Chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission and until Justice Breyer officially retires this summer, serves as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.