Biden Nominates Judge Jackson as First Black Woman Supreme Court Justice in US

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Seulgina Jo] The first Black female federal Supreme Court justice in U.S. history is about to be appointed.

According to the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden on the 25th (local time) nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal appellate court judge, as the successor to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who officially announced his retirement.

If Judge Jackson passes Senate confirmation, she will become the first Black female justice in the 233-year history of the U.S. Supreme Court. She will be the third Black justice and the sixth female justice overall.

The White House stated, "Judge Jackson is one of the most outstanding legal professionals," and explained, "President Biden made this decision after consulting with bipartisan senators and thoroughly reviewing the nominee's rulings."

The U.S. Supreme Court, known as the "highest sage," consists of nine justices. Even with Judge Jackson's appointment, the conservative-to-liberal ratio of 6 to 3, established during former President Donald Trump's administration, remains unchanged. However, due to the Senate's structure, where Democrats (including Democratic-leaning independents) and Republicans are evenly split 50 to 50, significant challenges are expected during Judge Jackson's confirmation process. The White House requested on the same day, "The Senate should conduct the confirmation process fairly and promptly."

President Biden promised during his presidential campaign that if a vacancy arose on the federal Supreme Court, he would appoint a Black woman as the successor. With the current oldest justice, Justice Breyer, retiring at the end of the Supreme Court term this June, he is fulfilling his campaign pledge. President Biden has focused on increasing diversity in federal judicial positions, having nominated the first Muslim federal judge in U.S. history in June last year and the first female LGBTQ federal appellate court judge in the same year.

Judge Jackson, 51 years old this year, was appointed as a federal appellate court judge by President Biden last year. Originally from Miami, she graduated from Harvard University for both undergraduate and law school and previously worked as a law clerk assisting Justice Breyer. When Judge Jackson was appointed to the federal appellate court, three Republican senators?Lindsey Graham, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski?voted in favor.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.