Biden announces Ketanji Brown Jackson as his Supreme Court pick

Washington – President Biden will appoint a federal court of appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retired Stephen Breyer in the Supreme Court, she announced Friday, fulfilling her campaign commitment to appoint the first black woman to the country’s highest court.

Mr. Biden formally announced Jackson, 51, as his election during a White House event alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, launching a confirmation battle in the Senate that will take place amid Democratic efforts to maintain their majorities in Congress in November. midterm elections.

“For too long, our government and our courts have not looked like the United States, and I think it is time for us to have a court that reflects all the talents and greatness of our nation with a candidate with extraordinary qualifications. , and that inspires all young people, that people believe that one day they can serve their country at the highest level, “the president said in a statement announcing Jackson as his candidate for the Supreme Court.

Mr Biden praised Jackson as a “proven consensus builder, an excellent lawyer, a distinguished jurist in one of the country’s most prestigious courts” and said he was “solely accomplished”, with a long track record that includes work in the public service. and private practice.

“Their opinions are always carefully reasoned, linked to precedents and show respect for how the law affects everyday people,” the president said. “It doesn’t mean he puts his thumb on the ladder of justice one way or another, but he understands the wider impact of his decisions.”

In statements after Mr. Biden, Jackson paid tribute to her husband, Patrick, daughters and family, and offered a message to Breyer, telling her that while the Senate will decide whether she takes her seat in the court, “I could never fill your shoes.”

“If I am lucky enough to be confirmed as the next associate judge of the United States Supreme Court, I can only hope that my life and career, my love for this country and the constitution and my commitment to uphold the rule of La law and the sacred principles on which this great nation was founded will inspire future generations of Americans, “he said.

With Republicans and Democrats each controlling 50 seats in the Senate and Harris casting a tie, Jackson will need the support of the 50 Democrats, if Republican senators oppose his nomination, in order to be confirmed in the Supreme Court, which is expected let him do it. receive.

It is unclear when confirmation hearings will begin in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but committee chairman Dick Durbin said in a statement that the panel will “immediately begin moving forward” on Jackson’s nomination. Majority leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that Senate Democrats “will work to ensure a fair, timely and expeditious process, fair to the candidate, the Senate and the American public.”

The pace of Jackson’s confirmation process is expected to be similar to that of Justice Amy Coney Barrettwhose nomination to replace the the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020 it was approved by the GOP-controlled Senate in less than 30 days.

Jackson will be guided through the confirmation process of former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, who acts as his so-called “Sherpa.”

Senate Democrats quickly applauded Mr. Biden for his historic nomination and offered widespread praise for Jackson. Schumer said that with her “exceptional qualifications and a history of impartiality,” she will “defend the constitution and protect the rights of all Americans, including the voiceless and the vulnerable.” Durbin called Jackson “an extraordinary candidate” with “an exceptional life story.”

Republicans, meanwhile, said they hope to meet with Jackson in person during the confirmation process.

“Judicial trials can affect the lives of all Americans in perpetuity. It is critical that any such candidate, including Judge Jackson, receive the most thorough and rigorous verification,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley. , the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, to a statement, adding that he hopes to sit with Jackson “face to face on Capitol Hill.”

Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Jackson was an “experienced federal judge with impressive academic and legal credentials” and said he intends to meet with her in his office.

With Jackson’s nomination, which comes almost a month after Breyer announced his retirement, Mr. Biden has his first chance to put his stamp on the Supreme Court. While Jackson’s appointment will not alter the ideological composition of the high court, which currently has a 6-3 Conservative majority, he is likely to run for decades if the Senate confirms it.

Breyer revealed in late January that he would retire from the Supreme Court once a successor is confirmed, limiting months of pressure from liberal judicial groups to resign and allowing Mr Biden to appoint a successor while Democrats control the Senate.

The president quickly reaffirmed that he would select a black woman as a nominee, following the promise he made during the 2020 presidential campaign to do so and make history with his election. Jackson was one of them more than a dozen candidates Mr. Biden weighed in on Breyer’s successor, along with California Supreme Court Judge Leondra Kruger and Federal District Judge J. Michelle Childs, a favorite of South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, who was instrumental in get the promise of Mr. Biden to make the historic nomination.

The president called Clyburn, the Whip of the House majority, on Thursday morning, a source familiar with the call told CBS News.

However, Jackson was considered one of the top candidates for the Supreme Court before there was a vacancy, with her professional experience representing indigent criminal defendants and nearly nine years in the federal bank made her the favorite.

She was selected by Mr. They bid last year to replace Attorney General Merrick Garland in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which is considered the second most powerful court in the country and served by three current judges. of the Supreme Court. Jackson was confirmed on DC circuit in June 2021, gaining the support of all Senate Democrats and three Republicans: Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Prior to his appointment to the DC Circuit, Jackson served for more than eight years as a judge on the District of Columbia Federal District Court. She was selected for this position by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and presented at her confirmation hearing by Congressman Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who would go on to serve as Speaker of the House before retiring. 2018.

Ryan and Jackson are related by marriage, and the congressman said at the time that his “praise for Ketanji’s intellect, for his character, for his integrity, is unmistakable. He is an amazing person.” The former GOP congressman praised Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court on Thursday. piulant that he and his family are “incredibly happy” for her and reiterating her 2012 comments.

Obama sued Jackson for the Supreme Court in 2016 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judge Antonin Scalia.

The former president congratulated Jackson in a statement on Friday, saying that “he has already inspired black women like my daughters to look taller, and their confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be.”

During his tenure in the district court, Jackson he ruled in the high-profile dispute between the House Judiciary Committee and former White House attorney Don McGahn, he found in 2019 that McGahn had to comply with the subpoena to testify.

“Presidents are not kings. That means they have no subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose fate they have the right to control,” he wrote. “Rather, in this land of freedom, it is indisputable that White House employees work for the people of the United States and take an oath to protect and defend the United States Constitution.”

He also served on the panel of three DC circuit judges rejected the attempt by former President Donald Trump to prevent the National Archives and Records Administration from handing over its White House records to the select committee of the House investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. Jackson agreed with Judge Patricia Millett’s written opinion that Trump “provided no basis for this court to overturn President Biden’s trial and the agreement and accommodations made between the political branches on these documents.” “.

In short, the Supreme Court gave the green light for the National Archives to hand over the records to the Jan. 6 committee, rejecting Trump’s request to block his release.

A native of Washington, DC, Jackson grew up in Florida. A last-minute White House biological page that came out Friday morning notes that her parents attended segregated elementary schools in the south and eventually became teachers and administrators of public schools in the Miami area.

Jackson attended Harvard University and Harvard Law School. According to the White House, when she told her high school guidance counselor that she wanted to go to Harvard, the counselor warned her not to look “so high.” Jackson graduated magna cum laude of Harvard College i cum laude from Harvard Law School.

She worked as Breyer’s secretary in the Supreme Court during her tenure, which began in October 1999, and, after working in elite law firms, became a special assistant attorney for the US ruling.

She also worked for two years as an Assistant Federal Public Defender before returning to the United States Sentencing Commission in 2010 as Vice President. Jackson’s time as a public defender makes her the first justice since Thurgood Marshall to have experience representing criminal defendants.

If confirmed, Jackson will not only be the first black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, but it will also be the first time there will be two African-American judges and four women serving at the same time. At 51, he would be the second youngest justice, behind Barrett, who has 50.

Bo Erickson and Nikole Killion contributed to this report

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