On Monday (March 21), Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in for the first day of her confirmation hearings for her nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Jackson sat through opening statements from 22 Republican and Democratic senators on the committee, which will ultimately decide if Jackson will join the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Judge Jackson would be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court in its 233-year history.
In Jackson’s opening remarks to the panel on the first of four days of confirmation hearings, she thanked God and her family for their support, and spoke of her “duty to be independent.”
“I have been a judge for nearly a decade now, and I take that responsibility and my duty to be independent very seriously,” Jackson said. “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.”
“I hope that you’ve seen that with hard work, determination, and love, it can be done.” – SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke directly to her daughters and her husband of 25 years, Dr. Patrick Jackson, as he wiped tears from his eyes. pic.twitter.com/P6qWmVHpVI
President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer, SCOTUS’ oldest justice.
While Biden did not watch the first day of Jackson’s confirmation hearing, due to scheduling conflicts, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters POTUS “has been requesting regular updates from the team” throughout the day.
He, along with multiple political figures, tweeted about Judge Jackson’s first day of confirmation hearings.
See reactions to day one of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s SCOTUS confirmation hearing below.
They don’t mind a woman President — just not Hillary Clinton.
They don’t mind a Black woman Vice President — just not Kamala Harris.
They don’t mind a Black woman Supreme Court Justice — just not Ketanji Brown Jackson.
