The Senate’s confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court concludes her historic nomination to become the nation’s first Black female justice.
Jackson, 51, is only the sixth woman and third Black justice to ascend to the high court, which will for the first time have two Black members, three members of color and four women.
As has been true of most recent confirmation battles, the process was partisan and often ugly, particularly last month’s Senate hearings.
But Jackson survived and is now set to join the Supreme Court in the fall, replacing the retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer.
President Biden delivers remarks on Feb. 25 on his nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, left, to serve as a Supreme Court justice. At right is Vice President Kamala Harris.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson meets with members of the Senate leadership ahead of her Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson meets with U.S. senators in the weeks leading up to the Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Top row: With Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.). Middle row: With Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Bottom row: With Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.).
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Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) meets with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ahead of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson leaves Capitol Hill after a day of courtesy meetings with members of the Senate leadership.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson answers questions during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson adjusts her glasses.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Left to right, clockwise, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) question Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Johnny Brown and Ellery Brown, the parents of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, listen to their daughter speak during her confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Visitors in the gallery raise their cellphone cameras in hopes of photographing Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson takes her seat during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Staffers carry boxes and folders in and out of the hearing room during a recess of Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson answers questions during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) confer during Jackson’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Left to right, clockwise, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) question Ketanji Brown Jackson during her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, talks with Doug Jones, a former U.S. senator from Alabama, while her husband, Patrick Jackson, places her cup on a table after a recess in Jackson’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
A staffer holds up a visual aid for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as he questions Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
People line up before Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Senate confirmation hearing.
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Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson tears up during a speech by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) during her confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Patrick Jackson gives his wife, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, a kiss after a long day of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee as their daughter stands nearby.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Each day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings, Patrick Jackson, husband of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, wore a different pair of socks displaying the face of a prominent political figure from American history. On Day 1, he wore socks with the face of Thomas Jefferson; on Day 2, Benjamin Franklin; and on Day 3, John F. Kennedy.
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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) listens during a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting to vote on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court of the United States.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s family joins her during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, flanked by others, walks through the Senate reception area on Capitol Hill.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson meets with supporters before a Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in for her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on March 21.
(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks about the historic confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
President Joe Biden wipes a tear from his eyes.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
A marker indicating the standing position for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson and President Biden at Friday’s event.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
Vice President Kamala Harris applauds as Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson turns back and waves before following President Biden into the White House after Friday’s ceremony.
(Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)