Senate confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the Supreme Court, in a bipartisan vote

• The Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
• Three Republicans joined all Democrats in a bipartisan confirmation vote.

The Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the Supreme Court, in a bipartisan vote on Thursday.

The final tally was 53-47 for Jackson, President Joe Biden's first nominee to the Supreme Court. Three Republicans— Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Mitt Romney of Utah — broke with their party and joined all 50 Democrats in the historic vote, a showing of bipartisanship that has become increasingly rare for Supreme Court confirmations.

Jackson is poised to serve as the 116th justice and the first Black woman on the Supreme Court in its 233-year history once retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, steps down this summer. She also makes history as the first former public defender elevated to the top court, bringing a diverse legal background to the bench that was highly sought after by the Biden White House.

The lifetime appointment caps a storied legal career for Jackson. Born in Washington, Jackson grew up in Miami, Florida to parents who are former public school teachers. Jackson went on to graduate from Harvard Law School and worked to climb the legal ranks. The 51-year-old jurist currently serves on the second-most powerful court in the country, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, often considered a launchpad to the Supreme Court. Biden appointed her to that seat a year ago, which, at the time, sparked rumors that she would make the shortlist if a Supreme Court vacancy arose.

When Breyer announced his retirement plans on January 27, Biden vowed to fulfill his 2020 campaign promise to nominate the first Black woman for the Supreme Court. The president aimed to choose a successor in the mold of Breyer, a centrist whose 28-year legacy on the Supreme Court has largely been defined by pragmatic problem-solving and defending the court's independence. Jackson, a former Breyer clerk who also served on the US Sentencing Commission as he had, emerged as the frontrunner.

Biden introduced Jackson as his pick in a White House ceremony on February 25, describing her as a "proven consensus-builder" and "distinguished jurist" with an "independent mind." The judge soon earned a long list of endorsements from hundreds of law professors, dozens of top law-enforcement officials, as well as former conservative public officials, including judges.

Jackson's career features a series of legal clerkships, stints in private practice, and eight years as a federal district judge, which took place before she was tapped for the appellate court last year. Jackson received a bipartisan confirmation in that Senate vote as well, drawing support from Collins, Murkowski, and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Graham, however, along with the overwhelming majority of Senate Republicans, voted against Jackson on Thursday, a sign that the politically divisive nature of Supreme Court confirmation process that hung over the Trump years has endured.

But unlike the rancorous confirmation battles for Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was swiftly approved on a party-line vote just eight days before the 2020 election, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who vehemently denied sexual assault allegations that triggered widespread criticism, Jackson's nomination did not ignite a judicial war. That's likely because her addition to the court will not change its 6-3 conservative majority cemented by former President Donald Trump. Rather, Jackson will maintain the current ideological makeup when she replaces Breyer, who was appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton.

Still, Jackson's confirmation hearings last month turned bitter at times when Republicans dove into culture war questions, attempting to tie the judge to heated political issues such as critical race theory. Some GOP members also aggressively grilled Jackson on her child-pornography sentencing record as a federal district judge, and her public defender experience representing Guantanamo Bay detainees, amplifying baseless accusations that she's "soft on crime" — an attack often lobbed at the Biden administration.

Jackson repeatedly defended her record. In her opening statement, she pledged to "support and defend the Constitution" if confirmed to the Supreme Court.

"I decide cases from a neutral posture. I evaluate the facts. And I interpret and apply the law to the facts of the case before me without fear or favor consistent with my judicial oath," she testified.

Although she secured the support of three Republicans, Jackson was widely expected to get approved to the nation's highest court even without any GOP votes because Democrats, who control the Senate, only needed a simple-majority to push her nomination through.

This fall, Jackson will join the Supreme Court amid an era of low public approval ratings, and just a few months after the justices are expected to release major decisions concerning abortion and gun rights. Many supporters of Jackson say they believe she will help restore faith in the institution.