The Senate voted 53-47 on Thursday to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, with three Republicans voting with all Democrats.
Jackson, a 51-year-old federal appeals court judge, will be the first black woman on the high court and the third black justice. Her confirmation vote was not nearly as bipartisan as that of the justice she’d been chosen to replace, Stephen Breyer, and others. But still, President Biden can tout a bipartisan win thanks to yes votes from GOP Sens. Mitt Romney, Utah, Susan Collins, Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, Alaska.
Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the Senate and banged the gavel to declare the final vote count and seal Jackson’s confirmation, as Democrats throughout the Senate chamber broke out in raucous applause.
President Biden watched the vote tally come in with Jackson in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Photos showed them holding hands and excitedly hugging as enough votes came in to confirm Jackson’s nomination.
