Ketanji Brown Jackson now can be called a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice-designate, given that the Senate has confirmed her nomination to the nation’s highest court in a 53-47 bipartisan vote.
This is a stellar day in the history of this great country, with Justice-designate Jackson becoming the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Her confirmation was a foregone conclusion, with three Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine — joining their Democratic colleagues in sending the newest justice to the court, where she will take her seat when its new term begins in October.
President Biden made a double-sided pledge during the 2020 presidential campaign: that he would nominate an African American woman to the court if he got the chance and that the nominee would be a supremely qualified jurist.
The president delivered the goods on both counts.
President Biden has earned applause for delivering on this key campaign promise. And the newest justice — who will succeed Justice Stephen Breyer — has earned the nation’s good wishes as she prepares for the job of a lifetime.