Newly-confirmed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
The U.S. Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris presiding, has just voted to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. The historic vote — with Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine joining Senate Democrats to put the tally at 53-47 — makes Brown the first Black woman to sit on the U.S.’s highest court.
Wesley Story, communications director at Progress Texas, said, “This is a monumental moment in our nation’s history. Jackson has opened up a door that’s been closed for far too long. We look forward to many powerful dissents from Justice Jackson, dissents that will become the roadmap to a more just future. And we look forward to a day when Jackson is part of the majority on the Supreme Court, ruling on issues like abortion rights, voting rights, and racial justice — all freedoms under attack in Texas that the Court’s conservative justices have turned their backs on.
“Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is the future of our nation, and her confirmation brings us one step closer to true equal justice under law,” Story said.
Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings noted that the confirmation vote is “an emotional pivotal moment in American history,” adding, “Our institutions, including the Supreme Court, are strongest when they reflect the great diversity of the people they serve. Along with her remarkable qualifications that have been highlighted throughout the confirmation process, Judge Jackson — as the first Black woman and public defender to sit on the highest court in the nation — brings perspectives, histories and life experiences that the court has been lacking.
“Amid unrelenting legislative attacks on the LBGTQ community and people living with HIV, combined with attacks on reproductive rights, voting rights, and nondiscrimination protections more broadly, Judge Jackson’s presence will make the court more responsive to the challenges all Americans face today,” he said.
