Biden to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for Supreme Court
Brown Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice
President Biden's nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court delighted progressives, particularly for her public defender background.
Biden, who had pledged to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, announced Friday he had selected Jackson, long rumored to be a front-runner for the pick.
"I’m proud to announce that I am nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court. Currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, she is one of our nation’s brightest legal minds and will be an exceptional Justice," Biden posted from his official Twitter account.
WHO IS BIDEN SUPREME COURT NOMINEE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON?
Jackson, 51, is a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. She clerked for retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and was a trial court judge, in addition to being a federal public defender in Washington.
While her confirmation would not change the current 6-3 balance of conservatives and liberals on the Court, her selection was cause for celebration for progressives.
"[A] former public defender on the court is a welcome change of pace from the usual resume for a scotus nominee," New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote.
"If confirmed, she will be the first black woman to sit on the court and will bring her experience as a public defender to a court where that is currently missing. Her years of experience make her worthy of bipartisan support," MSNBC legal analyst Joyce Vance wrote.
"233 years. That's how long we have waited to have a Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is a former public defender with a record of standing up for justice. There are no words to describe how my soul is moved by witnessing her nomination," Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., posted.
Liberal Washington Post columnist Paul Waldman predicted Republicans would unleash brutal attacks on Jackson and frame her as a "radical activist bent on using the court to advance her socialist agenda." He also surmised GOP senators would use her public defender background against her by pointing to crime statistics.
"How will they do it? Look for them to focus on crime, the issue whose racial resonances are understood by one and all," he wrote. "Because she represented people accused of crimes who could not afford to defend themselves, she must be 'soft on crime' and will be forced to answer endless loaded questions about current crime statistics."
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Jackson would also be the third Black person ever on the Supreme Court if confirmed, after Thurgood Marshall and current Justice Clarence Thomas.