Ketanji Brown Jackson nominated as first Black woman to sit on ...

(CNN) President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Friday, setting in motion a historic confirmation process for the first Black woman to sit on the highest court in the nation.

"Today, as we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I'm here to fulfill my responsibilities under the Constitution, to preserve freedom and liberty here in the United States of America," Biden said at the White House as he introduced Jackson.

"For too long, our government, our courts haven't looked like America," Biden said. "I believe it's time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications, and that we inspire all young people to believe that they can one day serve their country at the highest level."

Senate Democratic leaders hope to have a vote confirming Jackson to the court by mid-April.

Jackson, 51, curr ently sits on DC's federal appellate court and had been considered the front-runner for the vacancy since Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement.

"I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey. My life has been blessed beyond measure and I do know that one can only come this far by faith," Jackson said.

"Among my many blessings, and indeed the very first, is the fact that I was born in this great country," she added. "The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known. I was also blessed from my early days to have had a supportive and loving family. My mother and father, who have been married for 54 years, are at their home in Florida right now and I know that they could not be more proud."

Though historic, the choice of Jackson will not change the ideological makeup of the court. The court currently has six conservative justices and three liberal justices -- and the retiring Breyer comes from the liberal camp. The court is already poised to continue its turn toward the right with high-profile cases and rulings expected from the court in the coming months on abortion, gun control and religious liberty issues.

Biden met with Jackson for her Supreme Court interview earlier this month, a senior administration official said, in a meeting that the White House managed to keep secret. Jackson received and accepted Biden's offer in a call Thursday night, a source familiar with the decision told CNN, yet was present for DC Circuit Court hearings Friday morning.

The White House considered delaying the announcement, given the Russian invasion in Ukraine, but believed it was critical to get the second phase of the confirmation process moving, the official said.

Chance to excite Democrats

Biden's pick is a chance for him to fire up a Democratic base that is less excited to vote in this year's midterm elections than it has been over the past several election cycles. The selection gives Biden a chance to deliver on one of his top campaign promises, and he'll hope that the Black voters who were crucial to his election win will see this as a return on their investment.

While Jackson was the leading contender, the official said the President gave "considerable weight" to other finalists, including Judge J. Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.

For more than a year, the President had familiarized himself with her work, reading many of her opinions and other writings, along with those of other contenders.

But Biden was also was impressed by her life story, including her rise from federal public defender to federal appellate judge -- and her upbringing as the daughter of two public school teachers and administrators.

"Her parents grew up with segregation, but never gave up hope that their children would enjoy the true promise of America," the President said Friday.

JUST WATCHED Ketanji Brown Jackson has had "Supreme Court stardust" on her Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Ketanji Brown Jackson has had "Supreme Court stardust" on her 03:45

"Her opinions are always carefully reasoned, tethered to precedent and demonstrate respect for how the law impacts everyday people," Biden said. "It doesn't mean she puts her thumb on the scale of justice one way or the other. But she understands the broader impacts of her decisions, whether it's cases addressing the rights of workers or government service. She cares about making sure that our democracy works for the American people. She listens. She looks people in the eye -- lawyers, defendants victims and families -- and she strives ensure that everyone understands why she made a decision, what the law is, and what it means to them. She strives to be fair, to get it right, to do justice. That's something all of us should remember. And it's something I've thought about throughout this process."

Nomination process

Eyes will now turn to the Senate, where Biden's Democratic Party holds the thinnest possible majority. The President will hope that Jackson can garner bipartisan support, but Democrats will need all their members in Washington to ensure her confirmation.

Unlike for most major pieces of legislation, Democrats do not need Republican help to confirm a Supreme Court justice and can do it with their 50 votes and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking a deadlock. When Jackson was confirmed to the appellate bench, she had the support of three Republican senators. Harris, whom the White House said played an active role in the selection process, was working the phones Friday morning, calling senators as the news was reported.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated that he wants to push a nominee through the process quickly, using Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett's Senate proceedings as a model for Jackson's confirmation timeline. And Sen. Dick Durbin, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told CNN recently that he expects to have a hearing within a few weeks of the selection.

The goal of the leadership is to have the nominee confirmed by the April 11 recess.

Jackson is expected to have her courtesy meetings with senators next week, according to a person familiar with the plans. It's common for Supreme Court nominees to meet with the leadership on both sides, then members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Biden first committed to nominating a Black female US Supreme Court justice when he was running for president in 2020. On a debate stage in South Carolina, Biden argued that his push to make "sure there's a Black woman on the Supreme Court" was rooted in an effort to "get everyone represented."

Though there are currently no Black women serving in the United States Senate in a position to vote for the nominee, Black female House members, all Democrats, applauded Biden for "fulfilling his campaign promise."

Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio said the nomination is "something that I will remember forever." Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said Jackson will "bring a new, necessary perspective" to the court and "will also be an inspiration to Black women and girls everywhere." Rep. Frederica Wilson of Florida said she "never dreamed that, in my lifetime, I would see a Black woman nominated" to the Supreme Court.

Personal history

Jackson was born in the nation's capital but grew up in the Miami area. She was a member of the debate team at Miami Palmetto Senior High School before earning both her undergraduate degree and law degree at Harvard.

She also previously clerked for Breyer and served as a federal public defender in Washington -- an experience that her backers say is fitting, given Biden's commitment to putting more public defenders on the federal bench. She was also a commissioner on the US Sentencing Commission and served on the federal district court in DC, as an appointee of President Barack Obama, before Biden elevated her to the DC Circuit last year.

Jackson thanked Breyer in her speech.

"Justice Breyer, in particular, not only gave me the greatest job that any young lawyer could ever hope to have, but he also exemplified every day, in every way, that a Supreme Court justice can perform at the highest level of skill and integrity, while also being guided by civility, grace, pragmatism and generosity of spirit," Jackson said. "Justice Breyer, the members of the Senate will decide if I fill your seat, but please know that I could never fill your shoes."

At her 2021 confirmation hearing for the appellate court, she connected her family's professions -- her parents worked in public schools -- to her decision to work as a public defender.

"I come from a background of public service. My parents were in public service, my brother was a police officer and (was) in the military," she said at the time, "and being in the public defenders' office felt very much like the opportunity to help with my skills and talents."

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, a Republican, is a relative by marriage and introduced her at the 2013 hearing for her district court nomination.

Ryan also congratulated Jackson Friday.

"Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family. Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal," Ryan said

At the White House Friday, Jackson noted that an uncle was previously given a life sentence on drug charges, an issue of which she hasn't previously spoken about publicly.

"You may have read that I have one uncle who got caught up in the drug trade and received a life sentence," Jackson said. "That is true, but law enforcement also runs in my family. In addition to my brother, I had two uncles who served decades as police officers, one of whom became the police chief in my hometown of Miami, Florida."

In 2008, when Jackson was in private practice and well before she became a judge, Jackson referred her uncle's file to WilmerHale, a law firm that handles numerous clemency petitions, according to a spokesperson for the firm.

The firm submitted the petition on Brown's behalf on October 7, 2014, and Obama commuted his sentence on November 22, 2016. According to the firm, Jackson had "no further involvement in the matter" after making the referral. Jackson's chambers said she would decline comment on the issue.

"I am standing here today by the grace of God as testament to the love and support that I've received from my family," Jackson added Friday.

Republicans signal potential opposition

As a judge in DC -- where some of the most politically charged cases are filed -- Jackson's issued notable rulings touching on Congress' ability to investigate the White House. As a district court judge, she wrote a 2019 opinion siding with House lawmakers who sought the testimony of then-White House Counsel Don McGahn. Last year, she was on the unanimous circuit panel that ordered disclosure of certain Trump White House documents to the House January 6 committee.

As a judge, some other notable cases she has in her record are a 2018 case brought federal employee unions where she blocked parts of executive orders issued by Trump, and a case where she ruled against Trump policies that expand the categories of non-citizens who could be subject to expedited removal procedures without being able to appear before a judge.

Jackson penned more than 500 opinions in the eight years she spent on the district court.

Though Biden has said that he'd pick a nominee with bipartisan appeal who is "worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy of excellence and decency," his decision to name the first Black woman to the court is already facing Republican opposition. Several Senate Republicans have told CNN they disagreed with the President's decision to name a Black woman to the court rather than judging a nominee squarely on their credentials, even though Ronald Reagan and Trump both said they'd name a female justice to the Supreme Court when they were on the campaign trail.

Even before Biden nominated Jackson, GOP senators and Senate candidates were already concluding that she'd be far left, throwing cold water on the names floated as being on Biden's potential short list and calling for a slow confirmation process. Still, Republicans are limited in their ability to block a Supreme Court nominee, and Jackson may win the support of some GOP senators.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Susan Collins of Maine all voted for Jackson last summer when she was confirmed as a circuit court judge on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the second most important court in the country.

Collins touted Jackson's "impressive academic and legal credentials" following the announcement. But Graham, who had expressed support for Childs, suggested Jackson does not have his approval, saying in a tweet that the choice of Jackson "means the radical Left has won President Biden over yet again." Graham added that he expects a "respectful but interesting hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for a "rigorous, exhaustive" review of Jackson in a statement.

"I also understand Judge Jackson was "impressive academic and legal credentials the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself," McConnell said.

This story has been updated with additional developments, reaction and background information.

Jake Tapper
Ariane De Vogue
Jeff Zeleny
Betsy Klein
Maegan Vazquez

Biden said he will put a Black woman on the Supreme Court. Here's ...

(CNN) In what will be one of the most monumental endeavors of Joe Biden's presidency, the retirement of Stephen Breyer sets the stage for an immensely important decision by the President.

Breyer's seat may be the only one that Biden fills on the Supreme Court , and it may not be one he fills at all -- if Republicans retake the Senate before the President's choice for a replacement is confirmed.

Biden at the White House on Thursday confirmed the nominee will be the first Black woman on the high court.

"It's long overdue, in my opinion," the President said.

"Our process is going to be rigorous. I will select a nominee worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy of excellence and decency. While I've been studying candidates' backgrounds and writings, I've made no decision except one: the person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court," Biden said.

A short list of potential nominees had been circulating Washington well before Breyer's retirement plans became public, and officials in the White House Counsel's office built files on various candidates in anticipation of a potential vacancy. Biden said he will make his choice by the end of February.

The White House is stacked with officials deeply familiar with the confirmation process, starting with Biden himself -- who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee -- as well as White House chief of staff Ron Klain, who has experience both at the White House counsel's office and working for the Senate Judiciary Committee.

With Democrats holding the narrowest of majorities in the upper chamber, Biden will have to choose someone who can safely get 50 votes in the Senate (Vice President Kamala Harris could provide the tie-breaking vote if the Senate is split on the nomination). In addition to the vote count, Biden also has to keep an eye on the calendar. Senate Republicans are likely to retake the chamber in this year's midterms and have already signaled they would block a Biden nominee to the Supreme Court. It typically takes two to three months for a president to see his nominee confirmed by the Senate once he or she is named. The most recent justice, however, was confirmed in just a month and a half, as Senate Republicans rushed to get Justice Amy Coney Barrett approved before the 2020 election.

Given the disappointments that have been recently dealt to the progressives under the Biden administration -- between the congressional demise of the President's Build Back Better proposal and his failure to find a way forward on voting rights legislation -- Biden's choice for the Supreme Court gives him the opportunity to reinvigorate the democratic base. If his nominee is confirmed, Biden will secure a much-needed victory for his administration.

Here are potential nominees who have been on observers' short list.

DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.

Biden has already elevated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson once, appointing her last year to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which is considered the second-most powerful federal court in the country. Previously, the 51-year-old judge served on the federal district court in DC. Because of that appellate appointment, she's already been through a vetting process that included an interview with the President himself. Fittingly, she clerked for Breyer and holds degrees from Harvard and Harvard Law School. She also served as an assistant federal public defender, making her a prime example of the Biden's White House focus on appointing judges with backgrounds that are outside the typical prosecutor and Big Law box.

As a judge, Jackson has ruled on high profile cases including the Don McGahn congressional subpoena lawsuit (where, as a district court, she ordered the former Trump White House counsel to comply with the House's subpoena). As an appellate judge, she signed on to the recent opinion ordering the disclosure of Trump White House documents being sought by the House January 6 committee. The Supreme Court declined Trump's request that it reverse the decision in an order this month allowing the documents to be released.

California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger

In this Dec. 22, 2014, photo, Leondra Kruger addresses the Commission of Judicial Appointments during her confirmation hearing to the California Supreme Court in San Francisco.

Kruger, now 45, was the youngest person to be appointed to the California Supreme Court when then-Gov. Jerry Brown nominated her in 2014.

Kruger is intimately familiar with the Supreme Court having worked as a clerk for the late Justice John Paul Stevens and served as acting deputy solicitor general in the Obama administration. While in the Solicitor General's office, she argued 12 cases in front of the Supreme Court representing the government. At the Justice Department, she also earned the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service, the department's highest award for employee performance, in 2013 and 2014.

At the California Supreme Court, she has authored notable opinions on the 4th Amendment -- holding that law enforcement could not search a woman's purse without a warrant after she declined to provide a driver's license -- and upholding a California law that requires law enforcement to collect DNA samples as well as fingerprints from all persons arrested for or convicted of felony offenses.

Though she is said to be well-liked among the alumni of the Solicitor General's office, she has not yet received the thorough vetting that other potential nominees have gone through.

South Carolina US District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs

Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to the U.S. District Court, listens during her nomination hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 16, 2010.

Childs , a judge on South Carolina's federal court, is said to have a major booster in House Majority Whip James Clyburn, a Biden ally who helped deliver South Carolina for the eventual nominee in the 2020 Democratic primary. Just last month, Biden nominated Childs to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the nomination remains pending.

A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Childs does not have the Ivy League pedigree shared by eight of the nine justices. Her cheerleaders have touted her public-school education and other elements of her background as an advantage for Democrats, according to a 2021 New York Times report, and as a way to fight back against claims that the party has become too elitist in its makeup.

In addition to a decade spent in private practice, the 55-year-old served as a state court trial judge on the South Carolina Circuit, as the deputy director of the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, and as a commissioner on the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.

Other names that have been floated

Sherrilyn Ifill, a civil rights attorney who recently announced plans to step down from her role as President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Sherrilyn Ifill, of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, speaks with reporters outside the White House on July 8, 2021.

Anita Earls, a 61-year-old North Carolina Supreme Court associate justice whose age would likely hamper serious consideration from Democrats looking to seat a younger nominee on the high court.

Anita Earls, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina

District Judge Wilhelmina "Mimi" Wright, a judge on Minnesota's federal district court whose consideration would likely please Sen. Amy Klobuchar, the Minnesota Democrat who sits on the Judiciary Committee.

Wilhelmina Wright speaks to the media after her appointment by Gov. Mark Dayton to the Minnesota Supreme Court on August 20, 2012.

Circuit Judge Eunice Lee, a former New York public defender whom Biden nominated to the Second Circuit on the recommendation of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Eunice C. Lee testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for judicial nominees on June 9, 2021.

Circuit Judge Candace Jackson-Akiwumi, an alumna of Chicago's public defender's office whose appointment by Biden to the Seventh Circuit was cheered by Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Candace Jackson-Akiwumi testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on pending judicial nominations on April 28, 2021.

Circuit Judge Holly A. Thomas was confirmed last week to the Ninth Circuit after facing tough questions during her confirmation hearing from Republicans about her record as a civil rights advocate.

This undated photo provided by the US Courts for the Ninth Circuit shows Circuit Judge Holly A. Thomas.

first Black judge on the federal circuit when the Senate Federal Circuit Court Judge Tiffany P. Cunningham, a former patent attorney in the US Patent and Trademark Office who became thefirst Black judge on the federal circuit when the Senate confirmed her last year.

Tiffany P. Cunningham testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday, May 26, 2021.

Arianna J. Freeman, a Philadelphia public defender who was nominated earlier this month to be a circuit judge, and if confirmed, would be the first woman of color and first Black woman to serve on the 3rd Circuit.

Arianna J. Freeman, a nominee for the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Melissa Murray, a New York University law professor who wrote the first casebook covering the field of reproductive rights and justice.

Prof. Melissa Murray of the New York University School of Law testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 7, 2018.

Nancy G. Abudu, a voting rights expert and the head of strategic litigation for the Southern Poverty Law Center who was nominated earlier this month to be a circuit judge for the 11th Circuit.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

Ketanji Brown Jackson officially nominated to Supreme Court: updates

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden formally announced U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his choice for a seat on the Supreme Court at the White House on Friday, marking the first time in history a Black woman has been named to the nation's highest court.

The nomination, Biden's first, set off a frenzy of activity in the Senate, where Democrats have said they hope to use their thin majority to move to a final vote by early April. If confirmed, Jackson would replace Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced he intends to retire in June.

During her remarks at the White House, Jackson had special praise for retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom she once clerked.

"I could never fill your shoes," said Jackson as her husband and one of her two daughters looked on.

The high court:What is the Supreme Court? Everything you need to know about the SCOTUS and its justices

The process:Supreme Court confirmation: How the process for Ketanji Brown Jackson will unfold in the Senate

She said Breyer “exemplified every day in every way that a Supreme Court justice can perform at the highest level of skill and integrity, while also being guided by civility, grace, pragmatism, and generosity of spirit.”

Jackson, 51, serves on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. A former Breyer clerk, she was confirmed by the Senate last year for the appeals court.

First Black woman:Biden to nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court

Pioneers:For Black women judges like Jackson, blazing a trail has meant scrutiny

Jackson hopes to inspire just as she was inspired

Judge Jackson said that if confirmed she hopes to inspire future generations.

Concluding her remarks, Jackson said, “I can only hope that my life and career, my love of this country and the Constitution, and my commitment to upholding the rule of law and the sacred principles upon which this great nation was founded, will inspire future generations of Americans.”

- Dylan Wells

Jackson references Judge Constance Baker Motley

During her remarks Friday, Judge Jackson called attention to the first Black woman ever nominated to a federal court: Judge Constance Baker Motley.

Motley, a civil rights icon, was nominated to the U.S. District court in New York by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966. She was a protégé of Thurgood Marshall before he became the first African American justice on the Supreme Court in 1967.

More:For Black women judges like Jackson, blazing a trail has meant scrutiny, assumptions

Jackson noted that she and Motley shared a birthday.

"We were born exactly 49 years to the day apart," Motley said. "Today I proudly stand on Judge Motley shoulders, sharing not only her birthday, but also her steadfast and courageous commitment to equal justice under law."

-- John Fritze

Jackson notes one of her qualifications: being 'a working mom'

First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff watched from seats in the White House’s Cross Hall alongside Jackson’s husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, a Washington D.C. surgeon, and Leila Jackson, one of their two daughters.

There were no other guests. Nearly 20 White House staff members looked on from the back of the room and a side staircase as a throng of reporters stood facing Jackson.

Jackson’s remarks were delayed by a few seconds after Biden struggled to retrieve a stepstool for her to stand on.

“See, presidents can’t do much,” Biden joked, then turned around and embraced his historic Supreme Court pick.

Biden noted Jackson’s credentials as a “working mom,” and in her remarks Jackson sought to assure her children: “Please know that whatever titles I may hold or whatever job I may have, I will still be your mom. That will never change.”

Jackson thanks Biden - and God - for the nomination

In thanking Biden for the nomination, Jackson consistently referenced her religious faith.

"I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey," Jackson said.

"My life has been blessed beyond measure," she added.

- Joey Garrison and David Jackson

Jackson ‘truly humbled’ by nomination

Judge Jackson, speaking for the first time since Biden nominated to her to the Supreme Court, said her life “has been blessed beyond measure.”

Jackson told the story of her values have been shaped by her family and she pointed to her faith as allowing her to reach this historic moment.

Jackson said she is “truly humbled by the extraordinary honor of this nomination.”

-- John Fritze

AG Garland - a former high court nominee - calls Jackson 'outstanding'

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Supreme Court nominee himself, called Biden's choice "outstanding."

“I have known Judge Jackson since she served as a federal public defender. I also had the privilege to serve alongside Judge Jackson during her eight years as a district judge before she joined the D.C. Circuit,” he said. “I have witnessed firsthand her exceptional abilities as both a lawyer and a judge, her commitment to the rule of law and equal justice under law, and her generosity of spirit."

Garland knows what it's like to be nominated to the high court, having been tapped in 2016 by President Obama to fill the seat left open by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Garland never got a hearing or a vote in the GOP-controlled Senate, which prevented him from serving on the Supreme Court.

- Kevin Johnson

Biden highlights Jackson’s clerkship for Justice Breyer

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson clerked for retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she will fill if confirmed by the Senate.

“Not only did she learn about being a judge from Justice Breyer himself, she saw the great rigor through which Justice Breyer approached his work,” Biden said.

He added, “she learned from his willingness to work with colleagues with different viewpoints, critical qualities in my view for any Supreme Court justice.”

- Dylan Wells

Biden consulted VP Harris, lawmakers on choice

Biden said he consulted the advice of both Democratic and Republican members of Congress and thanked Vice President Kamala Harris for her help with the nomination process.

“I've been fortunate to have the advice of Vice President Harris,” Biden said.

Biden praised Harris as an “exceptional lawyer, former Attorney General of California, and a former member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.” The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on Jackson’s nomination before she proceeds to a full Senate vote.

Biden lauded Jackson's credentials and said Jackson has a “pragmatic understanding that the law must work for the American people.”

- David Jackson and Dylan Wells

Biden formally introduces Judge Jackson as SCOTUS nominee

President Joe Biden and U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson have entered the Cross Hall of the White House, where the president is formally introducing her as his historic nominee to the Supreme Court.

“Today, as we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I'm here to fulfill my responsibility under the Constitution to preserve freedom and liberty," Biden said.

The announcement comes on the two-year anniversary of Biden’s pledge to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in its 233-year history.

-- John Fritze

Biden references Russian invasion of Ukraine

In introducing the new high nominee, Biden referred to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and drew a contrast to U.S. democracy.

"Today as we watch freedom and liberty under attack abroad, I'm here to fulfill my responsibilities under the Constitution to preserve freedom and liberty here in the United States of America," he said.

- David Jackson

Biden to introduce Jackson as SCOTUS nominee at 2 p.m.

President Joe Biden will introduce Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his Supreme Court nominee in remarks at 2 p.m. EST from the White House’s Cross Hall.

Jackson, a 51-year-old federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C. is also expected to speak.

The announcement comes during a challenging moment for the White House as Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Biden vowed to announce his nominee before the end of February, allowing him to tout Jackson’s credentials during Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

Jackson would make history as the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.

The White House called Jackson “an exceptionally qualified nominee as well as an historic nominee” and urged the Senate to “move forward with a fair and timely hearing and confirmation.”

– Joey Garrison

Manchin noncommittal about voting to confirm Jackson

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., a critical swing vote on many issues in the evenly divided Senate, was noncommittal about voting to confirm Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

“Just as I have done with previous Supreme Court nominees, I will evaluate Judge Jackson’s record, legal qualifications and judicial philosophy to serve on the highest court in the land,” Manchin said in a statement. “I look forward to meeting with Judge Jackson before determining whether to provide my consent.”

A moderate Democrat, Manchin has bucked Biden on the president’s domestic spending agenda and passing a filibuster carve-out for voting rights. He has publicly praised another contender who Biden considered for the Supreme Court, federal judge Michelle Childs of South Carolina.

Still, Manchin is widely expected to support Jackson’s confirmation, having voted for Jackson last year when Biden nominated her to the U.S. district court in Washington D.C.

Manchin has also expressed support for nominating a Black woman to the bench and has a record of supporting Supreme Court nominees of both parties. An exception was President Trump’s nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, citing the rushed process ahead of the 2020 election.

-- Joey Garrison

Barack Obama: Ketanji Brown Jackson inspires young Black women

Former President Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president, praised Jackson on Friday as a trailblazer who has "already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher."

"Her confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be," Obama said.

The former president nominated two justices to the Supreme Court – both women – Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Elena Kagan a year later. Sotomayor is the nation's first Latina to sit on the high court.

Obama also has a connection to Jackson: He nominated her to U.S. District court in 2009. Jackson was also reportedly on Obama's shortlist for the Supreme Court.

“Like Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson understands that the law isn’t just about abstract theory,” Obama said. “It’s about people’s lives.”

– John Fritze

Sen. Susan Collins praises Jackson’s experience, credentials

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, praised Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as an “experienced federal judge with impressive academic and legal credentials” in a statement about Biden’s Supreme Court nominee.

“I will conduct a through vetting of Judge Jackson’s nomination,” Collins said.

Collins was one of three Republican senators who voted for Jackson’s confirmation last year as a D.C. federal circuit judge, along with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Graham criticized Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court Friday.

Collins, a moderate Republican who won reelection in 2020, voted for both of President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominees, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

– Joey Garrison

Chuck Grassley, top Republican on Senate Judiciary, says 'I look forward' to meeting with Jackson

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said “I look forward to meeting with Judge Jackson face to face on Capitol Hill in the coming days, and working with Senator (Dick) Durbin to finalize the committee’s initial questionnaire and records request, as is customary in this process.” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is the chair of the committee.

“As I always have, I’ll make my determination based on the experience, qualifications, temperament and judicial philosophy of the nominee,” Grassley said, promising that Jackson will “receive the most thorough and rigorous vetting.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, another member of the committee, said “Ultimately I will be looking to see whether Judge Jackson will uphold the rule of law and call balls and strikes, or if she will legislate from the bench in pursuit of a specific agenda.”

– Dylan Wells

Former GOP House Speaker Paul Ryan praises Jackson’s character, integrity

As Senate Republicans weigh their response to President Joe Biden’s nominee to the Supreme Court, one influential former GOP leader – Paul Ryan -- is praising Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Jackson is related by marriage to Ryan, the former House speaker. Jackson's husband is the twin brother of Ryan's brother-in-law. The former Wisconsin lawmaker testified on Jackson's behalf when she was nominated to the federal district court in 2012.

"Janna and I are incredibly happy for Ketanji and her entire family," Ryan tweeted on Friday. "Our politics may differ, but my praise for Ketanji's intellect, for her character, and for her integrity, is unequivocal."

– John Fritze

Mitch McConnell: Jackson is 'favored choice of far-left, dark-money groups'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said “The Senate must conduct a rigorous, exhaustive review of Judge Jackson’s nomination as befits a lifetime appointment to our highest Court.”

McConnell noted that he voted against confirming Jackson to her current role when she faced a Senate vote last year. In the statement, McConnell framed Jackson as “the favored choice of far-left dark-money groups that have spent years attacking the legitimacy and structure of the Court itself.”

McConnell said he looks forward to meeting with Jackson in person, and “studying her record, legal views, and judicial philosophy.”

– Dylan Wells

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer: Jackson will get bipartisan support

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., predicted Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, will garner bipartisan support during her upcoming confirmation process in the Senate.

“Jackson has been confirmed by the United States Senate on a bipartisan basis three times and I expect she will again earn bipartisan support in the Senate,” Schumer said.

“As the first Black woman Supreme Court Justice in the Court’s 232-year-history, she will inspire countless future generations of young Americans,” he added.

Before Jackson faces a full Senate vote, she must first clear the Senate Judiciary Committee. Schumer promised a “prompt hearing,” after which he said he would “ask the Senate to move immediately to confirm her to the Supreme Court.”

“Judge Jackson’s achievements are well known to the Senate Judiciary Committee as we approved her to the D.C. Circuit less than a year ago with bipartisan support,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the chair of the committee.

– Dylan Wells

Lindsey Graham slams Jackson pick after pushing for different nominee

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., slammed Biden's nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, saying it "means the radical left has won President Biden over yet again."

In the past, Graham broke party ranks and voted for Supreme Court nominees of President Barack Obama, including Associate Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor. But his reaction suggests he won’t support Jackson’s confirmation as Biden seeks bipartisan support in the Senate.

Graham, who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, had lobbied publicly for U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs for the nomination, a candidate who was also supported by Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. Graham was one of three Republicans who voted for Jackson's confirmation to the D.C. Circuit last year.

"The attacks by the Left on Judge Childs from South Carolina apparently worked," Graham wrote on Twitter.

– Joey Garrison

Pick named on vow's anniversary

There is a symmetry to the timing of Biden's announcement: Friday marked the two-year anniversary of his pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.

Biden's campaign for the Democratic nomination was struggling in February 2020. Pete Buttigieg had narrowly captured the most delegates from the Iowa caucuses. Biden placed a disappointing fifth in New Hampshire. The future president announced his promise to choose an African American woman for the high court for the first time on the debate stage, four days before the South Carolina primary.

"Everyone – and no one's better than me and I'm no better than anyone else. The fact is, what we should be doing – we talked about the Supreme Court," Biden said in response to a question about the biggest misconception voters had about him. "I'm looking forward to making sure there's a black woman on the Supreme Court, to make sure we in fact get every representation."

The promise received little attention at the time. But Democrats said it resonated with Black voters there and probably contributed to his win in the state – fueling his path to the nomination and the White House. It also helped secure a critical endorsement of South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat in the House.

– John Fritze

Americans support diversity on court

Biden's announcement marks the first time a Black woman has ever been named to the Supreme Court. If Jackson is confirmed, it will also be the first time two African Americans serve on the high court together. And the first time four women will occupy the nation's highest bench at the same time.

A new USA TODAY/Suffolk poll shows that Americans broadly favor diversity on the court but disagree about how significant a factor it should be for presidents.

A third of Americans say diversity on the high court should be "an important factor" for presidents to consider when choosing nominees while another 11% say it should be the main factor, according to the poll of 1,000 likely voters, conducted Feb. 15-20. Twenty-nine percent said diversity should be "just one of many factors" considered.

Just more than two in 10 Americans said diversity shouldn't be a factor at all.

Poll:Majority of Americans say diversity should be a factor for Supreme Court

– John Fritze

Tricky timing for Biden on SCOTUS

It was supposed to be a reset for the Biden administration, a historic celebration of the first Black woman ever to be nominated to the Supreme Court.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin had other plans.

Normally a Supreme Court nominee offers a White House a news cycle of solidly positive news. But the developing situation in Ukraine is likely to distract attention from Biden’s pick, and some had speculated the president might even reschedule it.

But White House officials stressed for days that the president wasn’t going to move his timeline and he had already set a deadline: The end of February. Biden was interviewing candidates for the post even as the situation in Europe deteriorated.

One timing advantage Biden still has – and what may have driven the decision not to postpone: The State of the Union address on Tuesday. That high-profile address will give Biden a high-profile opportunity to tout his pick to two audiences: The nation, and the Senate, which now takes up the task of considering her confirmation.

– John Fritze

Ketanji Brown Jackson hearing recap: Making history, first Black ...

This story recounts Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's first day of confirmation hearings. For the most recent updates, click here.

WASHINGTON – Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden's nominee to the Supreme Court, made history Monday as she faced senators on the first day of a marathon process to potentially be confirmed as the nation's first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

Across more than two centuries of American history, the Supreme Court has had 115 justices. Only five have been women. Just one has been a woman of color. Before Jackson, a Black woman had never been nominated to the high court.

Her nomination is the latest barrier to fall at the highest levels of American government. More than a year ago, then-Sen. Kamala Harris made history as the first woman and first woman of color to be sworn in as vice president.

In an emotional opening statement, Sen. Cory Booker, the New Jersey Democrat and only Black member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he could barely contain his joy in seeing Jackson in the Capitol for her confirmation.

“This is not a normal day for America,” Booker said, harkening to other historic firsts for the court. “We have never had this moment before.”

Senators from both sides of the aisle celebrated the historic nature of Jackson's nomination on Monday, but they also started to draw their own battle lines before the real fireworks likely begin Tuesday and Wednesday.

Jackson will face questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee the rest of this week before members make a report on her confirmation to the full Senate.

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee emphasized Jackson's role in the greater history of the Supreme Court, which has never had a Black woman as a justice.

"You, Judge Jackson, can be the first," Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said, noting that being first isn't always easy. "Today is a proud day for America."

The news come to you:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter here and say informed on everything politics

Gallery:Biden nominates U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court

Read her prepared statement

"Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley, and Distinguished Members of the Judiciary Committee: thank you for convening this hearing and for considering my nomination as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. I am humbled and honored to be here, and I am truly grateful for the generous introductions that my former judicial colleague, Judge Tom Griffith, and my close friend Professor Lisa Fairfax have so graciously provided.

I am also very thankful for the confidence that President Biden has placed in me and for the kindness that he and the First Lady, and the Vice President and Second Gentleman, have extended to me and my family.

In her own words:Ketanji Brown Jackson's opening statement:

Durbin dismisses idea that Jackson is soft on crime

Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dismissed GOP accusations that Judge Jackson is soft on crime.

“Those of us who are on the committee can tell you that every nominee from the Biden administration faces the same charge, regardless of their background, regardless of their record,” Durbin told reporters after the first day of the hearing.

“It is a campaign theme for 2022. It's played out every time the Judiciary Committee considers” a nomination, Jones said. “I don't think there's any credibility to it.”

-- Dylan Wells

Supreme Court Sherpa Doug Jones reflects on first day

“We're very hopeful that this hearing is going to go as well as it did today,” former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., told reporters after the first day of the confirmation hearing. Jones serves as Supreme Court Sherpa, helping Judge Jackson navigate the Hill.

“No one is perfect. Everybody's gonna find something that they are not happy about,” said Jones of GOP criticism of Jackson. “Nothing that we've heard today was something that we haven't heard before.”

“I think there's gonna be some very pointed questions about her record, and that's what the senators are there for. I think she will be prepared,” Jones said. Jackson delivered an opening statement today, but won’t be questioned until tomorrow.

Jones said it will be “very simple” for Jackson to argue that she’s not soft on crime due to her record, an attack leveled by some Republicans. As for Missouri GOP Sen. Josh Hawley listing a number of child pornography cases today that he hopes to question Jackson about, Jones said “given his tweets and statements, it was not surprising. We expected those and she will be able to talk about each one of those cases."

Asked if Jackson will share her thoughts on if the court should be expanded, another criticism from Republicans, Jones said, “I don’t think any judicial nominee should be talking about legislative policy. Everybody understands that the size of the Supreme Court is an issue for this body, for the Congress – it is not for the court.”

“I think what you saw today was a concerted effort on everyone’s part to make sure that this nominee gets her hearing in a very respectful way,” Jones said.

-- Dylan Wells

In case you missed it:Biden formally introduces 'truly humbled' Ketanji Brown Jackson as Supreme Court pick

Jackson: Lengthy legal opinions show value of transparency

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said she has developed a reputation for writing long.

About her nearly 600 opinions the Senate Judiciary Committee has collected as part of her confirmation process for the Supreme Court, Jackson joked about the length of the reading material, saying she strives to be explicit in her writings.

“I believe in transparency, that people should know precisely what I think and basis for my decision,” she said.

Her time as a public defender have made her sensitive to litigants’ need to understand that they have been heard by their judge, even if they don’t prevail.

She said she has dedicated her career to ensuring the words “equal justice under law” engraved on the front of the Supreme Court building “are a reality and not just an idea.”

-- Rick Rouan

More:We binge-watched 14 hours of Ketanji Brown Jackson's speeches. Here’s what we learned.

Jackson pledges to be an 'independent' and 'neutral' judge

Perhaps anticipating Republican criticism, Jackson pledged to be a Supreme Court justice who will adhere to the Constitution and not to her personal views.

"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."

While critics have accused her of being a liberal ideologue, Jackson said that "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."

-- David Jackson

Jackson: Name honors African heritage

The first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court said she got her name from her parents' pride in their African heritage.

Ketanji Brown Jackson said her parents were told that her given name, Ketanji Onyika, meant “lovely one.”

“My parents taught me that, unlike the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer, such that if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be,” she said. “Like so many families in this country, they worked long hours and sacrificed to provide their children every opportunity to reach their God-given potential.”

-- Rick Rouan

Jackson thanks her husband and daughters

Like most nominees, Jackson isn't talking about issues and is instead stressing personal qualities - particularly family.

Praising her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, the Supreme Court nominee said: "I have no doubt that, without him by my side from the very beginning of this incredible professional journey, none of this would have been possible."

Jackson also praised daughters Talia and Leila: "Girls, I know it has not been easy as I have tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood. And I fully admit that I did not always get the balance right."

"But," she added, "I hope that you have seen that with hard work, determination, and love, it can be done."

-- David Jackson

Jackson: My faith sustains me

After thanking President Biden and other officials for her nomination, Jackson also spoke about her religious roots.

"While I am on the subject of gratitude, I must also pause to reaffirm my thanks to God, for it is faith that sustains me at this moment," Jackson said. :Even prior to today, I can honestly say that my life had been blessed beyond measure."

-- David Jackson

Jackson stresses her history of being confirmed

The Supreme Court nominee opened with a subtle reminder to the assembled senators: You have confirmed me for three previous jobs.

"Today will be the fourth time that I have had the honor of appearing before this Committee to be considered for confirmation," Jackson said in her opening statement.

That includes the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., Jackson's current position.

– David Jackson

Hearing preview:What to watch for in Ketanji Brown Jackson's hearing

Lisa Fairfax introduces Jackson as a role model who ‘defines friendship.’

Lisa Fairfax, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, introduced her friend Jackson before she spoke at the Senate judiciary confirmation hearing.

“She's the friend that made sure we all (belonged.) A woman of deep faith in God and unyielding love for family,” said Fairfax, who first met Jackson in college.

The two have remained friends for 35 years, she said. The Supreme Court nominee appeared to wipe a tear as Fairfax spoke of how Jackson showed their friend group the power of hard work in transforming “the seemingly impossible into the achievable.”

-- Chelsey Cox

Biden wishes Jackson good luck

President Joe Biden called Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Sunday night to wish her good luck with her confirmation hearing this week, the White House said.

Biden has been receiving regular updates on the hearing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

-- Michael Collins

Blackburn promises "tough questions" for Jackson

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., one of the most outspoken Republican critics of Jackson's nomination, promised "tough questions" for the nominee at the hearings, but said they would be asked respectfully.

Blackburn's complaints about Jackson included issues of parental rights, trans athletes, education policy, mask mandates, criminal justice, court packing and the length of prison sentences for child pornographers.

“I can only wonder, what’s your hidden agenda?" Blackburn asked Jackson at one point.

Blackburn's criticism echoed those of other Republicans, though there is no indication they have the votes to derail her nomination.

Her statement also concluded the opening statements by senators.

-– David Jackson

More:What's next for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson? A high-profile confirmation process

Tillis: Judges should call ‘balls and strikes,’ not be activists

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he would retain an “open mind” as he considered whether Ketanji Brown Jackson’s judicial philosophy fits with how he would prefer a Supreme Court justice to weigh cases.

“I don’t want an activist at either end of the spectrum,” Tillis said during opening remarks on Monday, saying he told all three of former President Donald Trump’s nominees that he expected they would deliver opinions he disagreed with.

“If we are talking about preserving the integrity of the Supreme Court, there’s no place on the court for judicial activism,” he said.

Tillis said justices should call “balls and strikes” based on the law.

Calling the first nomination of a Black woman to the court “quite extraordinary,” Tillis said Jackson was showing “young boys and girls” that sitting on the high court was within reach.

-- Rick Rouan

In her own words:We binge-watched 14 hours of Ketanji Brown Jackson's speeches. Here’s what we learned.

Sen. Alex Padilla: "You are ready to blaze this trail"

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., stressing his own Latino roots, said Jackson's nomination to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court proves the need for '"more voices" and "more perspectives" in government.

"You are ready to blaze this trial," said Padilla, who also echoed other Democrats in stressing Jackson's years of judicial and legal experience.

"You are clearly more than qualified," Padilla said.

Padilla closed his opening statement by speaking in Spanish in praise of the nominee - perhaps a first for a Supreme Court nomination hearing.

-– David Jackson

Review:Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's opinions shows outcomes cut both ways

Rep. Jackson Lee dismisses Hawley’s child pornography remarks

During the hearing lunch break, Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas told reporters that she expects that the child pornography questions raised by GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri “will be meritless.”

“We will see how they are poised in the hearing. I don’t even call them charges, they are points that he wanted to make. But we’ll see how they poison hearings in terms of the questions to her,” Jackson Lee said.

Jackson Lee, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, said of Judge Jackson, “I’m here to celebrate, but also going to be here to support her.”

As Jackson returned to the hearing room after the break, Jackson Lee approached the judge and grabbed her hands, before introducing herself to Jackson’s husband.

– Dylan Wells

Booker: ‘This is not a normal day for America’

In an emotional opening statement, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., celebrated the historic nomination of a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

“This is not a normal day for America,” Booker said, harkening to other historic firsts for the court. “We have never had this moment before.”

In its history, the court has had 115 justices, but only five have been women and only one has been a woman of color.

“We are showing that we indeed will go deep into the waters of our nation and pull forth the best talent,” Booker said. Qualified candidates from underrepresented groups have had an “artificial barrier” that have kept them from sitting on the federal bench, he said.

Citing his upbringing in a small Black church, Booker said he was struggling to contain the joy he felt over Jackson’s nomination.

“The senate is poised right now to break another barrier. We are on the precipice of shattering another ceiling,” he said. “I just feel this sense of overwhelming joy as I see you sitting there.”

-- Rick Rouan

More:Jackson says she's 'humbled' by historic nomination to Supreme Court as focus shifts to Senate

Tom Cotton: Biden administration is 'waging war on the rule of law'

Sen Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a Republican who is thinking of running for president, said little about Jackson's record, but instead focused on attacking the Biden administration in general.

The administration is "waging war on the rule of law" on issues like gun rights, border security, and executive power, Cotton said in his opening statement. He also hit the administration over rising crime rates, and claimed we are witnessing "a breakdown" of society.

Officials also want to "pack the Supreme Court," Cotton said, and the panel should remain at "nine justices and no more."

As for Jackson, Cotton – who voted against her for a lower court slot – said he enjoyed meeting the nominee and will have "more questions" for her in the days ahead.

-– David Jackson

How does someone become a Supreme Court Justice?

Jackson must be approved by the Senate, a power given to the chamber in the Constitution.

Every aspect of Jackson's personal and professional life has been and will be scrutinized by both the Senate and general public. Senate staffers will read through all of her judicial decisions, speeches, interviews and any other information they can find to prepare lines of questioning for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Though the Biden administration vetted Jackson before nominating her, new information could emerge during the confirmation process.

Read the whole story here:What's next for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson? A high-profile confirmation process

-- Dylan Wells

Hirono condemns use of term 'affirmative action' to describe Jackson nomination

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, condemned those who oppose the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court by invoking the phrase “affirmative action.”

“They have implied you were solely nominated due to your race,” she said, calling a conservative media personality’s demand for the judge to release her LSAT scores “incredibly offensive and condescending.”

As the first Black woman to be nominated to the court, Jackson would break new ground for a court long dominated by white men who make decisions for a diverse country, she said.

“Your nomination is not about filling a quota. It’s about time,” she said. “It’s about time we have a highly qualified, highly accomplished Black woman on the Supreme Court. It’s about time the highest court reflects the country it serves. It’s about time Black women and girls can find someone who looks like them sitting on the court.”

-- Rick Rouan

Who were the women who preceded Jackson?:For Black women judges like Jackson, blazing a trail has meant opportunity, scrutiny

Hawley leans on pornography sentencing

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., didn’t waste time going after Jackson directly on a line of attack he’s raised in recent days: That as a federal trial court judge, she handed down sentences for defendants of child pornography charges below sentencing guidelines.

Hawley's criticism was notable, in part, because it represented a departure from many other Republicans on the committee who have directed their ire at Democrats or the Supreme Court itself.

Hawley, a former attorney general from Missouri, went through several of the cases he has focused on.

U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines are not mandatory and the independent agency’s own research has demonstrated that the majority of federal possession charges are sentenced under the guidelines regardless of the judge involved in the case.

"She hasn’t had the chance yet to respond to this," Hawley noted. “I think it’s important that we hear from Judge Jackson in coming days."

Hawley, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, was closely watched heading into the hearing because he was the one who first raised the allegations in the first place. Several independent fact check organizations have found that the claims are missing important context, including a years-old debate about whether the guidelines are too harsh.

Hawley said he believes they are not.

"This committee has heard testimony from prosecutors and others who are grappling with the problem of how to get at this porn and those who distribute it," Hawley said. "I think it's difficult, against this backdrop, to argue that the sentencing guidelines are too harsh or outmoded."

– John Fritze

Who would Jackson be replacing?:Pragmatist. Institutionalist. Optimist. How Justice Stephen Breyer changed the Supreme Court

Blumenthal: A Black woman should’ve been appointed 'years ago'

Sen. Richard Blumenthal gave the most robust defense of any Democratic senator on the committee thus far on President Joe Biden’s choice to nominate a Black woman to the high court.

“The appointment of a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court – let’s be very blunt –should have happened years ago. This day is a giant leap into the present for our country and for the court,” he said.

A poll released Monday by Monmouth University found 53% of Americans approve of the president’s pledge as a candidate.

Jackson will bring a different perspective to the court, Blumenthal, D-Conn., said, adding how representation is important to the judicial branch’s legitimacy and credibility.

“Your service will make the court look more like America, hopefully too it will make the court think more like America,” he said.

– Phillip M. Bailey

Sasse pushes back against 'broken' confirmation process

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said the Senate Judiciary Committee can break a cycle of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices that have become increasingly characterized by personal attacks as it considers the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Following his Republican colleagues' invocation of conservative nominees he said faced unfair criticism, Sasse called the process “broken,” and a symptom of a “broader brokenness and the erosion of our constitutional structure.”

Sasse said “screamed threats” in 2018 from Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, now the Senate majority leader, against justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were an example of the “bullying” justices have faced. Schumer later apologized for comments made as the court heard a case about a Louisiana abortion law.

“That’s weird. We should all be able to pause and say that’s weird. That kind of behavior shouldn’t happen,” Sasse said.

– Rick Rouan

Jackson compared to Ruby Bridges

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, compared Jackson's expected walk through the door of becoming the first Black woman on the Supreme Court to the walk 6-year-old Ruby Bridges made in November 1960, when she became the first African American student to integrate a public school in the South.

– Kevin McCoy

Who is Ruby Bridges? 60 years ago, Ruby Bridges integrated a New Orleans school. Here's what she tells kids today

Cruz: 'This is not about race'

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, focused his opening statement on what has become a common theme of the hearing so far: Complaints about how Democrats handled past Supreme Court nominees from Republican presidents.

Almost as interesting is what Cruz didn't discuss: Much of anything about Jackson's record.

"This will not be a political circus," said Cruz, a potential 2024 presidential candidate. "This will not be the kind of character smear that sadly our Democratic colleagues have gotten very good at."

"This is not about race," Cruz said. "It is, however, about issues and substance."

Cruz also spent considerable time discussing the Supreme Court itself, arguing that it had become a quasi legislative body for progressive causes.

"It's much simpler to convince five lawyers in black robes than to try to convince 330 million Americans," Cruz said.

It is conservatives who have a 6-3 advantage on the current court.

– John Fritze

Supreme Court 101:What is the Supreme Court? Everything you need to know about the SCOTUS and its justices

Klobuchar: Jackson would bring ‘real-world perspective’ to Supreme Court

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., pushed back against Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee advocating for a strict reading of the Constitution.

During her opening remarks in the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, Klobuchar said the court should consider the people at the other end of its decisions.

Jackson, she said, would bring a “real world perspective” the court needs.

Citing Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, whom Jackson would replace upon his pending retirement, Klobuchar said the court had to ensure the Constitution remains “workable” for the time.

“Those words, his words, are highly relevant to the court,” she said.

– Rick Rouan

Lee: Court packing delegitimizes the Supreme Court

One issue Republicans will bring up often over the next four days will be a call by progressive activists to add justices to the bench as a way to combat the current 6-3 conservative-leaning majority.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, indicated how he will grill Jackson about whether she agrees if more justices should be added to the bench. He noted former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted to do such in the late 1930s, and how it stained the court’s reputation.

“There is nothing in the Constitution that requires us to have nine and only nine justices,” Lee said. “But nine is the number that works, and it’s worked now for 152 years. It’s not one we ought to revisit.”

Lee said previous justices of different ideological leanings have opposed the idea.

Jackson, he said, has served at all three levels of the judiciary and he acknowledged how given the 50-50 makeup of the Senate – with Democrats hold the tie-break vote with the vice president – she will likely be confirmed.

– Phillip M. Bailey

Sentencing:Supreme Court pick Jackson could have 'profound' impact on sentencing

Cornyn questions whether Jackson 'advocacy' guides decisions

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he was “disappointed” that Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson hasn’t revealed more about her “judicial philosophy.”

Pointing to Jackson’s lengthy resume, Cornyn said the federal judge had plenty of time to form that philosophy and questioned whether her “advocacy has bled over into (her) decision-making process as a judge.”

“This is not your first rodeo,” Cornyn said.

Cornyn picked up where other Republicans had left off, railing against judicial activism and in favor of a court that constitutional framers, he said, believed would play a “modest but important” role in the government.

– Rick Rouan

Whitehouse: Jackson not from 'partisan petri dishes'

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., has drawn significant attention to the issue of “dark money” influencing Supreme Court nominees in the past. He used most of him time during Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s hearing in 2020, for instance, to focus on that issue.

But while Republicans on the committee are hoping to raise that issue with Jackson, Whitehouse argued it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison.

“She wasn’t groomed in partisan petri dishes,” Whitehouse said of Jackson, who he said “came to us not through a dark-money funded turnstile, but through a fair and honest selection process.”

– John Fritze

Feinstein: As a woman, I am proud

Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-California, who has participated in nine previous Supreme Court confirmation hearings, said Jackson’s resume is one of the most impressive she’s seen.

“Looking at your record, it’s clear you have the qualifications, and the experience and the knowledge needed to serve on the Supreme Court,” she said. “And as a woman, it makes me very proud of that.”

Feinstein mentioned how the high court is facing “foundational” cases, including abortion rights, gun regulations and environmental concerns such as climate change. She said as the former mayor of San Francisco she knows how those issues will impact real people across the country.

Jackson, the longtime California lawmaker said, has exemplified an even-handed approach to the law that will stand above politics, and independent of the other branches of government.

– Phillip M. Bailey

Graham tears into Dems for past hearings

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., used his opening statement to complain bitterly that, in his view, Democrats have not treated previous nominees from Republican presidents fairly.

Graham, who voted for Jackson for the D.C. Circuit last year, complained that diverse candidates nominated by Republican presidents haven't received the same treatment as Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court.

"If you're a Hispanic or African American conservative it's about your philosophy," Graham said of past Democratic criticism. "Now, it's going to be about the historic nature" of the nomination.

Graham said Republicans would be labeled "racist if we ask hard questions" but said that's "not gonna fly with us."

Graham, who has voted for Democratic nominees for the Supreme Court before, also criticized what he described as a "takedown" on the left of another Supreme Court candidate Biden had considered, U.S. District Judge J. Michelle Childs, who is from Graham's home state.

Some labor groups had questioned Childs' previous work on behalf of employers against unions.

"It's gonna be a couple interesting days," Graham said.

– John Fritze

Leahy: Jackson ‘fair and impartial’ jurist

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court could help restore American confidence in a judicial system he described as part of the increasingly partisan “judicial wars.”

“She’s a fair and impartial jurist with a fidelity to the law above all else,” Leahy said. “That’s what Americans want to see in a Supreme Court justice.”

Jackson, he said, could help unite the Senate behind a nominee who already has won bipartisan support as a nominee for the District Court of Washington, D.C.

“In this moment we have before us a unique opportunity to change that narrative. I’m under no allusion that we can mend this process overnight,” he said. “We have before us a nominee who has brought us together across party lines before and one I hope can bring us back together again.”

– Rick Rouan

Grassley notes delay in records requests

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Judiciary Committee's ranking GOP member, said the U.S. Sentencing Commission has not yet given Republican members of the panel many records from Jackson's tenure at the independent advisory organization for the judicial branch.

He sarcastically predicted those records might surface "about 20 years from now," long after the hearings conclude.

– Kevin McCoy

Grassley: Jackson hearing will be more respectful than Kavanaugh

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, used his opening statement to set the GOP tone for how they plan to interrogate Jackson’s legal thinking and decision making.

The ranking Republican noted how this week’s hearings will be an “exhaustive examination” Jackson’s record and views, but will be much different than the raucous tone of the hearings that confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

“We won’t try to turn this into a spectacle based on alleged process fouls,” Grassley said. “On that front, we’re off to a good start. Unlike the start to the Kavanaugh hearings, we didn’t have repeated, choreographed interruptions of Chairman Durbin during his opening statement like Democrats interrupted me for more than an hour during my opening statement at the Kavanaugh hearing.”

Grassley said since Biden announced her as his nominee for the Supreme Court, he encouraged his GOP colleagues to schedule meetings with her. He said Republicans will be asking tough questions about Jackson’s judicial philosophy, and the role judges should play in U.S. society, as Republicans are expected to discuss rising violent crime and adding justices to the high court.

“I’ve continually emphasized the need for a thorough, respectful process,” Grassley said.

– Phillip M. Bailey

Durbin defends Jackson on crime

Durbin defended Jackson against charges that have emerged from Republicans in recent days that she has handed down sentences in child pornography possession cases below U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

"These baseless charges are unfair," Durbin said. "They fly in the face of pledges my colleagues made that they would approach your nomination with civility and respect."

Some Republican senators have noted that Jackson has sentenced defendants on the charges below the guidelines. But others – including some conservatives – have noted that many judges regularly sentence below the guidelines. Several independent fact check organizations have found that the claims are missing important context.

– John Fritze

Who is Jackson?: Supreme Court pick Ketanji Brown Jackson in her own words

Durbin: Jackson not a ‘rubber stamp’ for president

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had a message for the critics of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson: check the record.

Durbin said during opening remarks that Jackson would not be a “rubber stamp” for the president who is nominating her to the high court, pointing to thousands of pages of transcripts and hundreds of opinions the committee has reviewed during her previous confirmations to other posts.

“You’ve been faithful to the law not to any person,” he said.

– Rick Rouan

Senators settle in for hearing

The other 21 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are listening as Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois makes his opening remarks.

Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff glanced over the press and turned to look at Judge Jackson as Durbin spoke, while Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas bent over a piece of paper, taking notes.

– Dylan Wells

First GOP criticism from Blackburn

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., offered a preview of the kind of criticism Republicans are likely to deliver.

“While I’m concerned that you don’t take seriously the rights of parents to choose what’s best for their children, you’ve consistently called for greater freedoms for hardened criminals,” Blackburn will say, according to excerpts of her opening statements.

Blackburn will also raise the issue of child pornography sentencing, which has emerged as a GOP taking point in recent days. Some Republican senators have said that Jackson has sentenced defendants with child pornography possession charges below the guidelines set out by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. But others – including some conservatives – have noted that many judges regularly sentence below the guidelines.

– John Fritze

'Sherpa' Doug Jones, guests file into hearing room

Ahead of the start of the first Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, guests are beginning to file into the room.

Former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, the Supreme Court sherpa guiding Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson around the Hill, has arrived ahead of the hearing.

Jones could be seen speaking to Democratic Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a guest of Senate Judiciary Chair Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.

– Dylan Wells

A guide on Capitol Hil:Former Alabama Senator Doug Jones tapped as 'sherpa' for Biden's Supreme Court nominee

'KBJ, every day'

Supporters and opponents of Jackson's confirmation have gathered outside the Supreme Court, according to several media accounts.

Chants of "Every day, KBJ" could be heard outside the court, Max Cohen of Punchbowl News tweeted.

Kimberly Robinson, a Supreme Court reporter with Bloomberg Law, tweeted a photograph that showed several dozen "protestors or and against Judge Jackson" outside the court.

The justices are hearing arguments in two cases Monday.

– John Fritze

Jackson’s intro a signal to GOP

In the carefully choreographed presentation of Jackson to the Senate Judiciary Committee, even introductions matter.

And in this case, at least one of the people introducing the judge is intended to send a signal to the GOP.

Jackson will be introduced by two people: Lisa Fairfax, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and former U.S. Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith. Fairfax is longtime friend and Harvard classmate of Jackson’s who will speak to her character.

Griffith is perhaps a less expected choice. A former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Griffith was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican. And so the message Jackson’s supporters hope to send is clear: She may be President Joe Biden’s nominee, but she has support from across the spectrum of judicial ideologies.

Griffith was also involved in one of the cases Republicans most often cite to criticize Jackson: A decision in which she ruled that President Donald Trump’s White House counsel, Don McGahn, was required to testify before a congressional committee that was at the time exploring impeachment. Griffith was one of two judges on a three-judge panel that overturned Jackson’s ruling in that case.

Griffith noted the disagreement in a letter supporting Jackson last month.

“However, I have always respected her careful approach, extraordinary judicial understanding, and collegial manner, three indispensable traits for success as a Justice on the Supreme Court,” Griffith wrote.

– John Fritze

Supreme Court nomination highlights lack of Black women in Senate

When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson begins her confirmation as the first Black woman nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, she won’t face questions from anyone who looks like her.

There are no Black women in the U.S. Senate. Kamala Harris, who would vote on Jackson’s confirmation only if the Senate vote ties, was the only Black woman in the chamber before she was sworn in as vice president.

– Dylan Wells

Who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee?

The Senate Judiciary Committee that presides over Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court is split evenly with 11 Democrats and 11 Republicans.

Members include a handful of former presidential candidates and firebrands from both sides of the aisle who this week will question Jackson, the first Black woman nominated for the court.

The members of the committee are:

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Il., chair

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo.

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

– Rick Rouan

Poll: Majority of Americans support Jackson

A majority of Americans believe Jackson should be confirmed to the Supreme Court, but nearly half don't know enough about her to assess her qualifications, according to a Monmouth University Poll released on Monday.

More than two-thirds of Americans feel it is important for the high court to reflect the nation's diversity, the Monmouth poll found. About 2 in 10 believe that having a Black woman on the court will have a real impact on how cases are decided.

The results are consistent with other polling since President Joe Biden announced Jackson as his nominee about a month ago. Just more than half of voters in a Wall Street Journal poll earlier this month said the Senate should confirm Jackson to the court. About a third said they are opposed. Just under 20% said they had no opinion or didn’t know.

– John Fritze

Profile:Who is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? For starters, she clerked for Breyer

Gallery:Associate Justice Stephen Breyer's Supreme Court career in photos

What does bipartisanship look like?

When the Senate confirmed Associate Justice Stephen Breyer in 1994, the vote was 87 to 9, with more than two dozen Republicans backing President Bill Clinton's nominee.

How times – and politics – have changed.

Breyer, who is retiring this year, was the last Supreme Court nominee from a president of either party to win substantial bipartisan support. These days, a bipartisan confirmation means a nominee is lucky to pick up three or four senators from the other party.

When Associate Justice Samuel Alito came along a dozen years later, the vote was far more narrow, 58-42, with only four Democrats breaking ranks. He was nominated by President George W. Bush. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor did slightly better in 2009, picking up nine Republicans. Associate Justice Elena Kagan, arguably one of the least controversial nominees in modern times, pulled in five GOP votes. Sotomayor and Kagan were both Obama appointees.

And then came President Donald Trump, whose three nominees were cleared on very thin margins. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch got three Democrats; Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh received one Democratic vote – West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin – and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett became the first justice since the 19th Century to win confirmation without a single vote from the party opposing the president.

What does this mean for Jackson? There's little reason to think the trend will change: In the current political landscape, Biden will be able to claim victory – and the mantle of bipartisanship – if only two or three Republicans wind up supporting her. If recent history is any guide, that's about the best she can hope for.

– John Fritze

Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson?

Biden's decision to nominate Jackson for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court wasn't much of a surprise. In many ways, she was the safest bet.

That's because Jackson, who Biden nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last year, has already been confirmed three times before. The Miami native and Harvard-educated lawyer had formerly served as a U.S. District Court judge and on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Both of those jobs required Senate approval.

Jackson, 51, clerked for the man she would replace, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. And President Barack Obama not only nominated her to the federal bench in 2012 but he considered nominating her to the Supreme Court back in 2016.

Bio:What to know about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden's Supreme Court pick

Religion:Jackson would add another Protestant voice to Supreme Court

Jackson has served on the D.C. Circuit since June and so has written only three opinions there. Of her two majority opinions, one dealt with whether a defense contractor could sue Iraq. In the other, Jackson wrote for a unanimous court that sided with federal unions in a dispute over labor negotiations.

But she has a deep record from the federal trial court, writing hundreds of opinions. In her most often-cited decision, Jackson ruled in 2019 that President Donald Trump's former White House counsel, Don McGahn, had to testify as part of a congressional impeachment inquiry. But she's also crafted opinions that sided with the Trump administration, including on immigration and his border wall.

– John Fritze, Kevin McCoy, Nick Penzenstadler

A look at Ketanji Brown Jackson's family

Growing up in a largely Jewish community in South Miami, Florida, Jackson, who is Protestant, was a nationally ranked orator on her high school speech and debate team. At Harvard, actor Matt Damon was one of her scene partners in a drama course. But it was another relationship she developed at Harvard that would shape her life.

She and her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, met as Harvard undergraduates. They married later, as she went to Harvard Law School and he went to Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Patrick Jackson is now a surgeon on staff at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Jackson and her husband have two daughters, Talia, a college student, and Leila, a high schooler. After Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died in 2016, Leila Jackson, then in middle school, wrote a letter asking Obama to consider her mother as Scalia's successor.

"She's determined, honest and never breaks a promise," Leila wrote, "even if there were other things she'd rather do."

– John Fritze, Kevin McCoy, Nick Penzenstadler

Agenda for Jackson's hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, will hold four days of hearings to consider Jackson for the Supreme Court, which is consistent with past nominees in modern times.

Starting at 11 a.m. ET Monday, the first day's hearing will be like an appetizer, with committee members delivering 10-minute opening statements. Jackson will also get 10 minutes to give an opening pitch to the senators. The statements will likely offer some clues about the lines of questioning Democrats and Republicans will pursue.

The main event begins on Tuesday, when members of the committee will each get 30 minutes, in order of seniority, to question Jackson. The questioning will continue Wednesday with another round, with each senator receiving 20 minutes.

The final day of hearings, Thursday, will be an opportunity for outside groups and experts, such as the American Bar Association, to offer their thoughts on Jackson.

– John Fritze

Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court hearing: Live stream, updates

This story covers Tuesday's Supreme Court hearing. For the latest live updates from Wednesday, see here.

WASHINGTON – Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson faced senators' questions on impartiality, her sentencing patterns, her defense of Guantanamo Bay detainees, abortion and critical race theory during a marathon hearing Tuesday in which senators are considering her nomination to the Supreme Court..

Jackson, a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and President Joe Biden's pick for a lifetime appointment, told senators she believed Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion, is a settled issue. She leaned into her family's history in law enforcement to describe how it influences her role as a judge.

And she noted the high honor that would come with being the sixth woman – and the first Black woman – ever on the nation's nine-member high court, calling it "extremely meaningful."

And when Republicans painted Jackson as soft on child sex criminals based on the sentences in a number of criminal cases she handled when she was a U.S. District Court judge, she responded by calling those offenses "the worst of humanity."

Senators also asked about her judicial philosophy and how she interprets the Constitution in cases where the document isn't explicit.

Tuesday marks the first of two days of questioning. Senators have 30 minutes each, in order of seniority. And then they'll get a second round of questions on Wednesday.

Day one of Ketanji Brown Jackson hearing:Making history, first Black female Supreme Court nominee faces senators

Who is Ketanji Brown Jackson? Jackson says she's 'humbled' by historic nomination to Supreme Court as focus shifts to Senate

Durbin: Jackson was a model of ‘grace under pressure’

After wrapping up the 13-hour hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin praised Jackson for performing with “grace under pressure.”

Durbin mentioned that one of the guests he invited to Tuesday’s marathon hearing was the woman who cleans his Senate office, who wanted to witness the history of the first Black woman to be nominated for the Supreme Court.

“She wanted to be there because she wanted to see this judge and hear her and show her support. And we asked her afterwards what she thought of the hearing. She said, it was really interesting, but there are some mean people in there,” Durbin recounted. “And the fact is, the overwhelming majority of people on the committee were not mean at all. They did their job in a respectful, professional way. There are always a few and you know who they are who are going to raise issues in a way that I think crossed the line, but that's their business.”

Durbin said the Republicans tried to lay gloves on her but failed.

“I think at the end of the day, the charges that she called some people war criminals turned out not to be true,” he told reporters in a press conference following the hearing. “The fact that she was accused of not imposing sentences that were serious for serious crimes turned out not to be true. And a couple senators still cling to this discredited theory that she is somehow sympathetic to child pornography.”

-- Ledyard King

Jackson distances herself from brief describing anti-abortion protestors as ‘hostile’

As the hearing went into its 13th hour, Jackson found herself defending language she wrote in a brief some 20 years ago when she was a lawyer that characterized anti-abortion advocates as “hostile, noisy crowd of in-your-face protesters.”

The brief was brought up by Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who opposes Roe v. Wade “as an awful act of judicial activism” and was the last person to question Jackson Tuesday.

“I find it incredibly concerning that someone who was nominated to a position with life tenure on the Supreme Court holds such a hostile view toward a view that is held as a mainstream belief that every life is worth protecting,” Blackburn told Jackson. “So how do you justify that incendiary rhetoric against pro life women?”

Jackson said the brief was filed on behalf of clients and not her personal sentiment.

“That was a statement and a brief made (as) an argument for my clients,” she responded. “It's not the way that I think of or characterize people.”

-- Ledyard King

Blackburn closes out the night's questioning

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is the last senator to question Jackson tonight. Tomorrow morning, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia and GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina will question Jackson for the first time, before the Senate Judiciary Committee runs through another full round of member questions, once again by seniority.

As the second day of the hearing approaches the 13 hour mark, many senators are scrolling through their phones – or in Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy’s case, tapping on an iPad.

Seated next to each other, Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island had a lengthy conversation while their colleague Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., questioned Jackson.

The audience watching the hearing has also thinned. Many senators have left the hearing for the night, and the number of guests seated in the back of the hearing room has declined as the evening goes on.

– Dylan Wells

Jackson says sovereignty of Native American nations should be protected

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif.,, asked Jackson about her decisions on Native American rights.

“I believe that respect for tribal sovereignty is paramount,” Padilla, whose state is home to the largest Native American population in the country, said. He also pointed out the upcoming decisions on the constitutionality of the Indian Act 1976, which is on the Supreme Court’s docket for next term.

“The Supreme Court has established that there is a special trust relationship between tribes and the federal government,” Jackson responded. She added that the nations should be able to trust the "stability the federal government has in terms of making sure that the tribes are recognized or cared for in the context of our system.”

-- Chelsey Cox

Jackson on judicial independence

Where Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee criticized Jackson for not offering opinions on issues like abortion rights and the Second Amendment, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., asked Jackson to explain her stance on such topics.

“You declined to answer as to not prejudge the issue. And I'll remind the committee, I believe that's been the approach taken by every Supreme Court nominee for the last three decades,” Padilla said.

Jackson said her approach is “consistent with the requirements of judicial independence.”

She explained that judges should actively consider the context of the case “and then with an open mind, receiving the arguments that are made in the context of that case, applying the law and making the decision.”

-- Chelsey Cox

Jackson has opinions but not appropriate to share

It’s not that Jackson doesn’t have opinions about the controversial issues senators are trying to get her to discuss, it’s just that she doesn’t think it’s appropriate to share them.

That was the takeaway from an exchange with Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who pressed Jackson on an issue she has been asked about for the better part of the day: Whether she believes the Supreme Court’s nine-member bench should be expanded.

Jackson acknowledged that she had personal thoughts on that point, but she reiterated her sense that it isn't appropriate for her to discuss them. That’s because it is Congress that decides the number of members on the Supreme Court, not the court itself.

Conservatives have been pressing Jackson on the point all day because it is progressives who have raised the idea of expanding the court to blunt the 6-3 edge conservatives currently have on the bench. Despite interest on the left, President Joe Biden hasn’t indicated interest in pursuing the idea.

-- John Fritze

Tom Cotton: Jackson “twisted the law’ in giving drug dealer reduced sentence

In one of the most heated exchanges of the day, Sen. Tom Cotton said Jackson “twisted the law” when she reduced a drug dealer’s sentence nearly in half two years after sentencing him to 20 years in prison.

The case involves Keith Young of Washington, D.C. who was sentenced in 2018 for drug and firearms crimes. At the time, sentencing guidelines required Jackson to take into account a minor charge more than a decade before when she sentenced him to 20 years.

Shortly after his sentence, Congress changed the sentencing rules to give judge more leeway on the punishment they handed down. Under the new rules, Young’s sentence could have been much lighter. So in 2020, when Young petitioned the court for leniency under “compassionate release” rules, Jackson cut seven and a half years off the original sentence.

Cotton said she had no right to do that since Congress did not allow judges to revisit sentence handed down before the law changed.

“You chose to rewrite the law, because you were sympathetic to a fentanyl drug kingpin, whom you had expressed frustration at having sentenced him to a 20-year sentence in the first place,” he said. “You twisted the law.”

Jackson responded that Congress provided judges through the “compassionate release motion mechanism” with the opportunity to review sentences.

“Prior to the compassionate release mechanism being enacted, a judge who imposed the sentence would have no opportunity to revisit,” she said. “In Mr. Young's case, the question was with this compassionate release motion under a circumstance in which Congress had changed the law, was that an extraordinary compelling circumstance to revisit his sentence and I made a determination that it was.”

-- Ledyard King

Day one recap:Making history, first Black female SCOTUS nominee faces senators

Jackson on the influence of her grandparents

Fighting tears, Jackson credited her grandparents with teaching her to get back up after being knocked down.

She described her grandparents as the hardest working people she’s ever known, “who just got up every day and put one foot after the other and provided for their families and made sure that their children went to college, even though they never had those opportunities.”

Jackson said she also focuses on her faith during hard times, a practice she also credits to her grandmother.

“Those are the kinds of things that I learned from my grandmother who used to have those family dinners and bring us all together. And I think that's a common experience of Americans that when you go through difficult times you lean into family and you turn to faith,” she said.

-- Chelsey Cox

Booker draws in Jackson's family

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey brought a burst of energy to his evening questioning, engaging with Judge Jackson’s family seated in the audience.

As Booker mentioned Jackson’s brother Ketajh Brown’s experience in the police, Brown nodded. Booker then acknowledged parents, speaking to them directly and then asking Jackson to speak about them.

Booker later joked that he was upset with Jackson’s husband, saying that when he teared up on Monday it triggered a “sympathetic cry” from the senator.

Booker started his remarks by comparing the size of the prop charts that Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Rhode Island Democrat Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, getting laughs from the hearing room.

“Ted had a very big chart, I think he needs to give Senator Whitehouse some advice on charts. Sen. Whitehouse’s was very small,” Booker joked.

As the hearing approaches the eleven hour mark, many senators have left the room. Originally the committee planned to get through questions by all 22 committee members tonight, but two have been postponed for tomorrow morning as the hearing draws on.

– Dylan Wells

Booker pushes back on GOP claims of light sentencing

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., pushed back on Republican claims that Jackson has been inappropriately light on sentencing.

“I kind of sat here insulted about the accusation that somehow this mother of two, confirmed three times by the United States Senate, has victim advocacy groups writing letters … (who) has presided over facts specific case, most heinous crimes … the implication that you are somehow out of the norm of other federal judges that we have confirmed … these issues had never come up,” Booker said while referencing a chart of nationwide sentencing guideline ranges.

-- Chelsey Cox

Cotton presses Jackson on sentences, crime

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Jackson a series of questions about whether “too many violent criminals” are captured “or not enough.”

“Does the United States need more police or fewer police?” Cotton asked.

“Is 17 years too long or not long enough for a criminal to spend in prison for murder?” he posed in a follow up question.

The questions were designed to elevate the GOP framing of Jackson as soft on crime, but Jackson repeatedly responded with the same basic answer.

“Senator, these are policy questions,” Jackson said.

“It’s not that they're difficult questions, she said. “It's that they're not questions for me. I am not the Congress.”

Jackson’s argument is that Congress often sets sentencing ranges for federal crimes and the U.S. Sentencing Commission makes recommended guidelines within those ranges in an effort to try to make sentences more consistent.

-- John Fritze

Jackson on the McGahn decision

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-HI., questioned Jackson about her decision to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify in impeachment investigations about allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election and possible obstruction of justice on the part of former President Donald Trump.

Jackson said she considered vertical precedent, which are handed down from higher courts, as part of her decision.

“So that even if you disagree with them, you have to follow them because they're binding precedent,” Jackson said.

The opinions about the McGahn matter by a district court judge were persuasive enough to convince Jackson that the former White House counsel should testify.

“I had to look at what he did and decide, was it persuasive?” Jackson said. “And I did.”

-- Chelsey Cox

The news comes to you:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter here to get the latest news in your inbox

Hirono uses GOP judge records to push back on charge KBJ soft on crime

After Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., publicly challenged Jackson’s judgment for not handing down harsher sentences in child pornography cases, Hirono sought to show that Republican-appointed judges displayed similar discretion.

“There was an article recently that highlighted the fact that many of (former President Donald Trump’s) circuit court nominees who were previously district court judges had also issued below guidelines sent to child pornography cases,” Hirono said.

Hawley had pressed Jackson on her decision to sentence an 18-year-old child pornography offender to three months in prison several years ago when guidelines called for a stiffer punishment.

Hirono also pointed out Republican senators unanimously voted to confirm GOP-nominated circuit court judges with numerous cases of below guideline sentencing for child sex crime offenders.

- Chelsey Cox

More:Ketanji Brown Jackson's comments on motherhood, her husband's tears and what they mean for a historic moment

Hawley: 'I am questioning your judgment'

After nearly 30 minutes of questioning, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., drove right to the point of his questions about Jackson’s sentencing of child pornography offenders.

“I am questioning your discretion, your judgment. That's exactly what I'm doing,” Hawley told Jackson. “I'm not questioning you as a person. I'm not questioning your excellence as a judge, frankly, but you said it, you had discretion. And that's exactly what I'm doing, I'm questioning how you use your discretion."

Hawley summed up his questioning after a detailed recollection of a case Jackson heard as judge, recounting from court filings the number and details of images and videos an offender had in his possession.

- Rick Rouan

Jackson: ‘I take these cases very seriously’

Jackson continued to push back against criticism from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., over her sentencing in child pornography cases.

“I take these cases very seriously,” Jackson said in one of the more tense moments of Tuesday’s hearing.

“The evidence that you would not describe in polite company the evidence that you are pointing to, discussing, addressing in this context, is evidence that I have seen in my role as a judge,” Jackson told Hawley of the graphic images she said she had to review in one of the cases.

“It is heinous. It is egregious,” Jackson said. “What a judge has to do is determine how to sentence defendants proportionally, consistent with the elements that the statute incudes.”

Jackson also pushed back against Hawley's insinuation that she automatically took the defendant's side because the punishment she handed down didn't strictly follow sentencing guidelines.

"I appreciate senator that you have looked at these from the standpoint of statistics, that you're questioning whether or not I take them seriously or I have some reason to handle them in either a different way than my peers or a different way than other cases," she said. "And I assure you that I do not. "

- John Fritze

Blumenthal asks Jackson to make the Supreme Court more transparent

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., treated Jackson's confirmation as a fait accompli, praising her trailblazing as the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court and saying that her past work as a public defender will bring a fresh perspective to the bench.

"You will make the court look more like America, but also think more like America," Blumenthal said.

The Democrat also talked about many issues that Jackson is likely to consider on the court, from privacy to sexual harassment to legal arbitration rules.

Blumenthal also urged Jackson to bring more "transparency" to the high court's work, including television cameras and a new "code of ethics."

- David Jackson

Jackson’s parents field photo requests, meet members

Judge Jackson’s parents Ellery and Johnny Brown are back in the hearing room again today, seated in the front row to Jackson’s right. With them is her brother, Ketajh Brown.

Senators on the Judiciary Committee and Jackson herself have mentioned Ketajh’s career in the Baltimore police department and in the military during the day’s proceedings, as well as her parents’ biographies.

Day two highlights - the grilling begins:Supreme Court pick Jackson fights back against GOP criticism over sentencing, Gitmo defense

The Browns have been popular during today’s hearing breaks, fielding photo requests and meeting committee members and guests watching the hearing. They’ve spoken with House lawmakers – who do not get to vote on their daughter’s nomination but are watching in the audience – including Democratic Reps. Bobby Rush of Illinois and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, both members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

During the lunch break, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina greeted the judge's parents, and during the afternoon break the Supreme Court “sherpa” former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., huddled with the family.

– Dylan Wells

Republicans try to grill Jackson with political campaign issues

The Senate held a Supreme Court confirmation hearing Tuesday, and a Republican political rally broke out.

Some GOP members of the Judiciary Committee have asked Jackson about critical race theory, education policy, trans rights, and the past treatment of Republican nominees – issues that may or may not come before the Supreme Court, but are being used on the campaign trail by Republicans seeking to win control of Congress in the 2022 mid-term elections.

More:Exclusive: 2022 could be most anti-trans legislative years in history, report says

Observers said it looks like some of the Republican senators are playing to voters and fundraisers rather than Senate colleagues who are expected to confirm Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court .

"It's campaign talk, not serious deliberation about jurisprudence," said Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.

Pitney cited GOP claims that Jackson's career has been promoted by anonymous political donations known as "dark money."

Said Pitney: "The GOP complaining about dark money is like Bonnie and Clyde complaining about bank security."

- David Jackson

Jackson asked which justice she's most like? None, she answered.

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska, departed from thornier issues to inquire about Jackson’s legal role models. He asked if there are any of the current or previous Supreme Court justices she admires most.

“I must admit that I don’t really have a justice that I’ve molded myself after or that I would,” she said.

Jackson said the best way to assess her jurisprudence is by looking at her record and previous rulings, adding how she starts "from a neutral posture" in all cases.

Sasse then asked about the difference in legal thinking among the three liberal-leaning justices on the court, which Jackson also dodged saying there are differences, but that she hasn’t had time to dive into those cases.

“I guess I’m surprised after nine years on the bench, I mean you’re super smart, and having worked for Justice (Stephen) Breyer and knowing of some of the philosophical arguments he and Justice (Elena) Kagan had, it just seems surprising you wouldn’t be able to reflect a little bit on those disagreements,” Sasse said.

- Phillip M. Bailey

Second day of marathon hearing reaches halfway point

Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware just concluded his questioning, marking the halfway point in today’s hearing.

There are eleven senators remaining, each of whom will have 30 minutes to question Jackson. The day’s proceedings began at 9 a.m. All members will have another opportunity to ask questions tomorrow.

GOP Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska will be up next when they resume around 4:05 p.m. ET.

– Dylan Wells

Coons: Jackson’s diverse decisions shows she'd be a fair

During his questioning , Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., offered examples about Jackson’s history of bipartisan decisions, pointing out times she agreed with the Trump administration and the Republican National Committee over Democrats.

Coons asked Jackson about her defense of former President Donald Trump’s wall spanning the U.S.-Mexico border, which she said was “guided by my understanding of the law and what is required, and not by anything else.”

The Delaware senator also said Jackson ruled in favor of the RNC in 2016 over the release of more emails belonging to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“My approach all the way through is one that I believe is required by my duties, by my oath, as a judge,” Jackson said of her decision process. “We rule without fear or favor. We are independent as judges in our responsibilities.”

- Chelsey Cox

Jackson: sex crimes cases involving children are ‘harrowing’

Jackson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that “as a mother, cases involving sex crimes against children are harrowing.”

Her statement came in response to Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who asked that Jackson share how having family members who served as law enforcement officers, including one as a detective in a Sex Crimes Unit, has impacted her decisions in cases involving child sex crimes.

“I think it's important to understand that trial judges who have to deal with these cases are presented with the evidence or descriptions; graphic descriptions. These are the cases that wake you up at night, because you're seeing the worst of humanity,”Jackson said.

Coons’ remarks came after Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and other GOP senators accused her of being soft on pedophiles.

- Chelsey Cox

Jackson defends sentencing ‘as a mother’ points out Congress role

After quizzing Jackson on racial issues and history, Sen. Ted Cruz grilled the judge about her sentencing record in child pornography cases.

The Texas Republican used a chart brought in by his Senate staff to point out how Jackson’s sentencing in those cases often fell below the recommended levels of federal prosecutors.

“Every single case — 100% of them — when prosecutors came before you with child pornography cases you sentenced the defenders to substantially below, not just the guidelines, but what the prosecutor asked for,” Cruz said.

Jackson, who attended Harvard law school with Cruz, said the senator’s charts failed to include how lawmakers told judges what to consider in those cases, such as probation officer’s recommendations.

“The second thing I would say is that I take these cases very seriously as a mother, as someone who as a judge has to review the actual evidence,” Jackson said.

“Senator the evidence in these cases are egregious,” she added. “The evidence in these cases are among the worst that I’ve seen and yet as Congress directs, judges don’t just calcite the guidelines and stop.”

- Phillip M. Bailey

Cruz questions Jackson over critical race theory

Jackson said she has not studied critical race theory and that it isn’t relevant to her work on the bench in response to questions on Tuesday from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Cruz brought props to the hearing, cycling through posters of children’s books he said were used at a Washington, D.C., area private school where Jackson is a board member. He questioned whether Jackson knew the books, including the children’s book “Antiracist Baby,” were taught at the school.

Brown said she did not have oversight of the school’s curriculum as a board member. And she said the theory taught at the college level was not a factor in her work as a judge.

After a long pause in response to a question about whether she agreed with the sentiments in the children’s book, Jackson said: “I do not believe that any child should be made to feel as though they are racist or as though they are not valued.”

She added later: "It doesn’t come up in my work as a judge. It’s never something that I’ve studied or relied on and it wouldn’t be something I would rely on if I was on the Supreme Court."

- Richard Rouan

Klobuchar questions Jackson on voting rights, free press

Jackson affirmed that the right to vote is “fundamental” and a free press “protected” when asked to address her views by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Jackson cited the Supreme Court as saying the right to vote is “the basis of our democracy, that it is the right upon which all other rights are essentially founded” and said she agrees with that sentiment.

The Minnesota senator also asked Jackson about her views on the role of journalists in democracy, noting that her father was a “newspaper reporter.”

“Journalists and freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment,” Jackson said. “It is about the dissemination of information, which is necessary for a democratic form of government.”

- Ella Lee

Klobuchar praises Jackson's family for their attentiveness

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar gave Jackson another chance to defend her sentencing policies regarding child pornography – and also praised family members for sitting behind the judge during the day-long session devoted to occasionally esoteric legal questions.

"They all seem to be awake throughout this hearing," the Minnesota senator told the Supreme Court nominee.

Klobuchar also praised Jackson for her "grace under pressure" during harsher questions from Senate Republicans.

– David Jackson

Biden 'proud' of Jackson's performance in hearings

President Joe Biden has been watching portions of his Supreme Court nominee's hearings over the last two days and is "proud of the way she is showcasing her extraordinary qualifications," according to the White House.

White House spokesman Chris Meagher told reporters at the daily press briefing Biden was "moved by the grace and dignity (Jackson) has shown the deference to senators and the level of detail she is offering, reinforcing the value of her experience, her intellect and the strength of her character."

Biden, a former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was also impressed with her "commitment to stay in the lane of judges prescribed by the Constitution," noting her respect for the text of the law and the importance of precedent, Meagher added.

The president also noted that she "swiftly dismantled conspiracy theories put forward in bad faith" in an apparent reference to GOP attacks that she had been lenient with sentencing in child sex abuse cases.

- Courtney Subramanian

Jackson: Biden didn’t ask her about philosophy before nomination

Pressed by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Jackson said Biden didn’t ask about her judicial philosophy.

Lee called attention to Biden’s remark in February in which he said that he was looking for a Supreme Court candidate with a philosophy that “suggests that there are unenumerated rights in the Constitution, and all the amendments mean something, including the Ninth Amendment.”

That is widely viewed as pointing to the Roe v. Wade decision, which indirectly referenced the Ninth Amendment to establish a right to abortion.

More:After Roe? Pro- and anti-abortion rights groups face new landscape in 2022 midterms – and beyond

Lee wanted to know whether Biden had asked Jackson about her views on those so-called unenumerated rights.

Did Biden “ask you either about your judicial philosophy more broadly separate and apart from the Ninth Amendment or ask you about your approach to the Ninth Amendment?” Lee asked.

“He did not,” Jackson responded.

- John Fritze

Durbin fact-checks Cornyn on claim Jackson called Bush, Rumsfeld 'war criminals'

As Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin gaveled in the afternoon session, the Illinois Democrat offered new research on an earlier claim by Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn that Jackson referred to former President George W. Bush and his Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "war criminals" in a legal filing.

Jackson told Cornyn she could not recall the particular reference but said she did not intend to disparage the former president or Defense secretary.

Durbin appeared to clean up the discrepancy by noting that Jackson filed several habeas petitions against the U.S. – naming Bush and Rumsfeld in their official capacities – while advocating on behalf of individuals raising torture claims.

"To be clear, there was no time where you called President Bush or Secretary Rumsfeld a 'war criminal,'" Durbin said.

"Correct, Senator. Thank you, that was correct," she added.

- Courtney Subramanian

Hirono: Gitmo answer ‘should have been end of it’

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s exchange with Jackson on representing Guantanamo Bay detainees went far longer than it should have.

“I thought that whole exchange was really, in my view, questionable,” Hirono told reporters during a break in the hearing.

For several minutes the South Carolina Republican pressed Jackson on her defense of those detainees, who are accused of being terrorists. Jackson defended her time as a public defender and as a lawyer for Gitmo detainees, saying she was "standing up for the constitutional value of representation."

During the lunch break, Hirono said Graham kept pushing for an answer after the judge had provided a solid one.

"And she made it really clear that the role as an advocate is to zealously represent your clients and that's what she was doing in these Guantanamo cases," Hirono said. "To me that should have been end of it.”

- Phillip M. Bailey

Judiciary Committee breaks for lunch, 15 senators to go

The Senate Judiciary Committee paused for a lunch break before proceeding with Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearing.

There are 15 senators left to speak after the break, which ends at 1:30 p.m. Each will get 30 minutes to question Jackson, and at some point the committee will pause again for a dinner break, meaning the hearing will continue into the evening.

After the break, the first senator to question Jackson will be Republican Mike Lee of Utah, followed by Democrat Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Yesterday Lee suggested he will question Jackson about her view on expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court, something she’s already been asked about this morning.

– Dylan Wells

Cornyn quizzes Jackson about 'staying in your lane'

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas asked Jackson about one of her most repeated goals as a Supreme Court justice: "Staying in your lane."

Cornyn appeared to question whether Jackson would stick to "interpreting" the law and not become a "policy maker" like a member of Congress or a state legislator.

Jackson said she is bound by the Constitution.

"Judges exercise their authority to interpret the law," she said – not to make it.

So judges shouldn't be politicians, Cornyn said.

"Yes," Jackson replied.

– David Jackson

Implicit rights:Decisions on same-sex marriage, contraception could be threatened by abortion ruling

New guests in the hearing room after a break

During a break in questioning, Durbin., spoke with Supreme Court “sherpa” former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala.

Durbin then took photos with a group of Black women who identified themselves as law school deans. Other guests snapped photos and took selfies with Jackson’s parents during the 15 minute break.

As Republican Sen. John Cornyn began his questioning after the break, many senators were absent, but there was a new addition to the room: Maine Sen. Angus King. He is not a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but came to watch the proceedings.

– Dylan Wells

Jackson: Gender balance 'extremely meaningful'

Jackson said she believes it would be "extremely meaningful" to have gender balance on the Supreme Court.

If confirmed, Jackson would be the sixth woman seated at the nation's highest court. She would join Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett -- marking the first time in history that four women serve together on the nine-member court.

On balance:Race, gender become factors in Supreme Court confirmation battle before Biden names his choice

"I think it’s extremely meaningful," Jackson said in respond to a question from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. "One of the things that having diverse members of the court does is it provides for the opportunity for role models."

"We want, I think, as a country for everyone to believe that they can do things like sit on the Supreme Court," Jackson said.

– John Fritze

Durbin, Graham tussle in testy exchange on Guantanamo Bay

As Graham pressed Jackson on her defense of Guantanamo Bay detainees, Durbin intervened to rebut the South Carolina senator's questioning.

He pointed out that there are 39 Guantanamo detainees remaining and the cost of housing them would be dramatically less if they were moved to a supermax federal prison in Colorado.

The two then squabbled over the recidivism rate and policy of detention at Guantanamo Bay before Graham fumed the cost of housing prisoners shouldn't matter if there is the possibility they could kill Americans while the country is "at war."

"I hope they all die in jail if they're going to go back to kill Americans, it won't bother me one bit," Graham shouted before he left the committee room.

– Courtney Subramanian

Jackson says Roe v. Wade is ‘settled as a precedent’

Jackson said that she believes both Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey are “settled as precedent” and that she would abide by stare decisis – a legal principle of ruling based on precedent – in cases related to abortion, falling in line with answers given by now-Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett during their hearings.

“Roe and Casey are the settled law of the Supreme Court,” Jackson said. “Concering the right to terminate a women’s pregnancy, they have established a framework and the court has reaffirmed.”

She expanded on the importance of stare decisis, calling it important because it provides and establishes “predictability and stability.”

“It also serves as a restraint in this way on the exercise of judicial authority because the court looks at whether or not precedents are relied upon, whether they’re workable, in addition to whether or not they’re wrong, and other factors as well.”

Abortion reentered the national discourse after a majority of the Supreme Court signaled in December that they are considering an opinion that could come later this year that may overturn or significantly change the landmark 1973 Roe ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion.

– Ella Lee, John Fritze

Abortion:Four clues the Supreme Court is heading toward a major shift on Roe v. Wade

Senators absent, Jackson's husband taking notes in hearing

As Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham questioned Jackson, several other committee members aren't in the room to hear him or her answers. Members are able to come and go throughout the hearing.

Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut are no longer in the room. On the Republican side of the hearing room to Jackson’s left, Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Mike Lee of Utah, and Ben Sasse of Nebraska are not present.

There are still 18 senators left to question Jackson, meaning the hearing will go well into the evening.

While Graham questions Jackson, her husband Dr. Patrick Jackson is actively taking notes. He is seated in the front row to his wife’s left, the same seat he sat in Monday, when he became emotional and could be seen wiping tears from his eyes during his wife's opening statement.

– Dylan Wells

Graham, other Republicans complain about treatment of GOP nominees

In addition to questioning Jackson, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are also grousing about confirmation hearings past – and how their favored candidates were treated.

Republicans are particularly busy dredging up the past, complaining about attacks on GOP nominees like Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and some lower court judicial candidates put forward by Republican presidents.

"There are two standards going on here," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., claiming that Republican nominees are treated like "weirdos" while Democrats like Jackson are treated fairly.

That idea is very much under dispute.

Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have noted that a past Republican Senate majority denied even a hearing to Merrick Garland, the Supreme Court nominee put up by President Barack Obama in 2016.

"There's exactly one living senator who effectively changed the size of the Supreme Court," said Rep. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "That was the Rep. Leader Senator (Mitch) McConnell, who shrank the Court to eight seats for nearly a year in 2016."

Democrats also noted that Republicans on the current committee are distorting Jackson's record in this current hearing.

– David Jackson

Graham: 'How important is your faith?'

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., started off his questioning by pressing Jackson about her faith.

"On a scale of one to ten, how faithful would you say you are in terms of religion?" Graham asked.

Jackson described herself as a non-denominational Protestant but said she wasn't comfortable answering questions like how often she attends church.

"Personally, my faith is very important," Jackson said. "But as you know there’s no religious test in the Constitution."

Graham was making a point that had less to do with Jackson and more to do with Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who faced a number of questions about her Catholic faith during her confirmation hearing.

Jackson would add a second Protestant voice to the court. The current court includes on justice who is Jewish, six who are Catholic and one who identifies as an Episcopalian.

– John Fritze

Jackson and faith:Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson would add another Protestant voice to heavily Catholic Supreme Court

Jackson restates commitment to impartiality

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., drew attention to Jackson’s previous endorsement by former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who said his praise for her intellect, character and integrity is “unequivocal.” In response, Jackson affirmed her commitment to serving as an “even-handed” Supreme Court justice – a theme throughout her hearing thus far.

She pointed to her record as a trial and appellate judge in Washington, noting that despite ruling on “politically contentious issues,” her rulings remained fair.

“My record demonstrates my impartiality,” she said.

– Ella Lee

Jackson highlights family's law enforcement ties in anti-crime criticism

Jackson pushed back on criticism that her time as a public defender meant she was soft on crime, noting that her family's background in law enforcement and her views as a lawyer and a judge informed how she viewed the effects of crime on a community and need for law enforcement.

Jackson's brother served as a Baltimore police office and two of her uncles were career law enforcement, including one who became the chief of the Miami Police Department in the 1990s. Leahy pointed out the National Fraternal Order of Police, the largest law enforcement labor organization in the U.S., has expressed strong support for her nomination.

She said as someone with family members on patrol or in the line of fire, she cares "deeply about public safety."

"Those are not abstract concepts or political slogans to me," she said.

Jackson cited the importance of the role of criminal defense lawyers "in defense of the Constitution and in service of the court" but also the rule of law. Her time as a judge informs her view that in order to have a functioning society, people need to be held accountable for committing crimes.

– Courtney Subramanian

Democrats tout Jackson's past work as a public defender

Supportive Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are promoting another unique aspect of Jackson's nomination: She would be the first Supreme Court justice who has been a public defender.

Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., said Jackson's work as a lawyer for indigent defendants gave her a unique view of how the criminal justice system works, or doesn't work.

Jackson, who would also be the first Black woman on the high court, said public defender work is essential so that judges can learn "both sides of the issue" before them.

It helps jurists "reach just results," Jackson said.

– David Jackson

Jackson's background:Ketanji Brown Jackson would be Supreme Court's first federal public defender, a line of attack for critics

Leahy: What about Merrick Garland?

Republicans spent much of the day Monday focused not on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson but rather on Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, accusing Democrats of treating him unfairly. Kavanaugh's hearing became a national spectacle over decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., seemed to have a response for that in his remarks Tuesday: What about Merrick Garland? Garland was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Barack Obama in early 2016 but GOP leadership in the Senate blocked his confirmation for months until after President Donald Trump took office.

"We're still waiting today for Republicans to explain on the record what kind of substantive concerns they had with Merrick Garland," Leahy said.

– John Fritze

Jackson hints at originalist 'constraints' on Constitution

Jackson provided a glimpse of her approach on whether or not she views the Constitution as an originalist, or interpreting the document as it was written with a fixed meaning.

Pressed by ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, about her views of whether the text evolves over time, Jackson said she was "acutely aware of the limitations on the exercise of my judicial power." She said she didn't believe there is a living Constitution in the sense that it's changing or "infused with my own policy perspective."

"The Supreme Court has made clear that when you're interpreting the Constitution, you're looking at the text at the time of the founding, and what the meaning was then as a constraint on my own authority. And so I apply that constraint," she said.

– Courtney Subramanian

Jackson brands herself as ‘independent jurist’

Jackson reiterated her commitment to impartial judging and said her record clearly demonstrates that.

When asked by Committee ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, what aspect of her record has been most important for the good of the country, she responded that all of her record is important because it demonstrates she is an “independent jurist.”

“I don’t think that anyone can look at my record and say that it is pointing one direction or another, that it is supporting one viewpoint or another,” she said.

– Ella Lee

Jackson's opinions:Review of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's opinions shows outcomes cut both ways

Jackson, on replacing 'my justice'

Jackson praised her former boss, retiring Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, whose seat she would fill if confirmed by the Senate.

Committee ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Jackson about a 2018 op-ed written by Breyer.

“I have nothing but the highest esteem and respect for my former boss, who I’ve spent the better part of the past couple decades calling ‘my justice,’ having clerked for him.”

– Dylan Wells

Who is Justice Breyer?:Pragmatist. Institutionalist. Optimist. How Justice Stephen Breyer changed the Supreme Court

Jackson dodges Grassley on court packing

Jackson made clear in her exchange with Grassley that she's not going to wade into the issue of expanding the size of the nine-member Supreme Court.

The Iowa Republican had tried a different way of posing the question, noting that some sitting justices – including Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg – have publicly opposed the idea.

But Jackson drew a compelling distinction between herself and the others: Ginsburg and Breyer had already been confirmed to a lifetime appointment when they made those comments.

"Other nominees to the Supreme Court have responded as I will," Jackson said, "which is that it is a policy question for Congress."

– John Fritze

Jackson avoids talking about how she might rule on hot button cases

Like Supreme Court nominees before her, Jackson is declining to speculate on how she might rule on very disputed issues that may come before her and the other justices.

Second Amendment gun rights, presidential powers, alleged court packing, whistleblower rules, immigration and other issues raised by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley – Jackson said she would have to look at the details of each case and the wording of law before she could even begin to think about how to judge it.

"I'm committed to staying in my lane of the system," Jackson said at one point.

Expect her to take a similar line on items like abortion and Roe vs. Wade, whenever they come up at this daylong hearing.

No judicial nominee, either Republican or Democrats, would talk specifics about how to rule on a case – especially a controversial one.

– David Jackson

Second Amendment:Supreme Court majority skeptical of New York law that limits carrying handguns in public

‘Standing up for the constitutional value of representation’: Jackson defends Gitmo cases

Jackson defended her representation of Guantanamo Bay detainees after the Sept. 11 attacks, making the case that public defenders sought to uphold the nation’s constitutional values that were under attack.

“We couldn’t let the terrorists win by changing who we were fundamentally, and what that meant was that the people who were accused by our government of having engaged in actions related to this, under our constitutional scheme, were entitled to representation – are entitled to be treated fairly,” she said. “That’s what makes our system the best in the world.”

She said that federal public defenders don’t pick their clients and described the work as a service.

“That’s what you do as a federal public defender; you are standing up for the constitutional value of representation,” she said.

– Ella Lee

Durbin gives Jackson a chance to defend herself against GOP attacks

Durbin is trying to preempt Republican criticism of the nominee by asking Jackson about some of the disputed aspects of her record, including her views on "court packing," the handling of military detainees at Gitmo, her work as a public defender, and sentences on child pornography.

"CNN says (Josh) Hawley's assessment of your record of ruling on child porn cases is wrong and unfair," Durbin told Jackson at one point, referring to the Missouri Republican senator.

In prebuttal mode, Jackson avoided the charged "political" topic of adding justices to the high court – and said she based sentences of convicted pornographers based on the law and the circumstances. She described her work on Guantanamo Bay and as a public defender as "standing up for the constitutional value of representation."

Despite Durbin's effort, expect Republicans to raise these issues – and others – throughout the day.

– David Jackson

Jackson responds to child porn criticism

Speaking for the first time about criticism that her sentences in child pornography cases consistently came in under U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines, Jackson told the committee that she took the crimes seriously and sought to “impose a sentence that is sufficient but not greater than necessary.”

Jackson noted that in addition to prison time, her sentences in the seven cases raised by Republicans often included years of supervised released and other factors, such as limiting the ability of defendants to use their computers.

“I am imposing all of those constraints because I understand how significant, how damaging, how horrible this crime is,” Jackson said.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has said that he intends to discuss some cases in detail later in the hearing.

– John Fritze

Jackson agrees with Justice Barrett on court-packing question

Durbin asked Jackson about her stance on making structural changes to the high court beyond its current nine seats, noting that Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was asked a similar question during her hearings. Many progressives have pushed to add more seats to the conservative, majority-ruled court.

Jackson said she agreed with Barrett, who said she could not opine on the politically controversial issue because it's inconsistent with a judicial role.

"My North Star is the consideration of the proper role of a judge in our constitutional scheme and in my view, judges should not be speaking in to political issues and certainly not a nominee for position on the Supreme Court," Jackson said.

– Courtney Subramanian

Jackson’s family back in the hearing room

Jackson’s parents and brother entered the hearing room after she made her entrance. Like yesterday, they are seated to Jackson’s right. Her husband flanks Jackson’s left side, while “sherpa” former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., has the seat closest to her right.

Others in the audience include Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who was present for yesterday’s proceedings. Louisa Terrell, director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, is also in the room watching the questioning.

– Dylan Wells

Jackson vows to ‘stay in my lane’

In her most extensive explanation yet of her judicial philosophy, Jackson told senators that she has developed a methodology “to ensure that I am ruling impartially.”

“I am acutely aware that as a judge in our system I have limited power,” she said.

“I am trying in every case to stay in my lane.”

Jackson said she looks at “original documents” and precedents of the Supreme Court.

Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin, D-Ill., raised the issue as his first question, anticipating that others would continue to ask. Jackson’s answer is unlikely to fully satisfy conservatives who would like a more detailed explanation of how she would approach interpreting the Constitution.

– John Fritze

Guests begin to arrive for second day of hearing

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., who was designated as Judge Jackson’s “sherpa” to guide her throughout the confirmation process, is in the hearing room. The proceedings are set to start at 9 a.m.

Outside the hearing room, a short line of ticketed guests has formed, awaiting entry to the room.

– Dylan Wells

Democrats aim to confirm Jackson in matter of weeks

Senate Democrats are aiming to fast-track Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation process at nearly the pace of Amy Coney Barrett, who was seated less than a month after being nominated in 2020.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee chairman, said he'd like to see her confirmed in an "expedited way" by April 8, when Congress leaves for a two-week Easter break.

"We don't know what's going to happen in the world," he said. "I want to really focus on getting this to the finish line.”

– Courtney Subramanian and John Fritze

Jackson's bio:Who is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? For starters, she clerked for Justice Breyer

Jackson's opening statement highlights support system, professional commitments

Judge Ketjani Brown Jackson on Monday thanked her support system and affirmed her commitment to neutral judgment in her opening remarks of her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.

Jackson said her parents taught her growing up that if she worked hard and believed in herself she could “do anything or be anything” she wanted to be, calling being born in America was the “first of my many blessings.” She said she is committed to deciding cases from a “neutral posture” and remaining transparent in her reasoning.

She also thanked God for her nomination and paid homage to her husband, children, high school debate coach and Justice Stephen Breyer, who she called a mentor.

– Ella Lee

Day 2 agenda for Jackson

Today is the second day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and the first opportunity during the hearings for senators to question her.

All 22 committee members will have the chance to ask Jackson any questions they want, for 30 minutes each. The order of questions will be determined by seniority.

Members of the committee previewed some of the topics that may arise today.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., listed specific cases in which Jackson handed down sentences for defendants convicted on child pornography charges that were below sentencing guidelines. Jackson's supporters and experts have noted sentences for those offenses are regularly below the guidelines, regardless of the judge involved.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he would press Jackson for more detail about her judicial philosophy and how she would approach the Constitution in situations in which the founding document is not clear.

– Dylan Wells

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., who is helping guide Jackson through the confirmation process in a role known as a "sherpa," told reporters that he feels the judge is ready to counter GOP criticism during questioning.

"I think there's gonna be some very pointed questions about her record, and that's what the senators are there for. I think she will be prepared," Jones said.

He said that Jackson, not the Democratic members of the committee, is best positioned to respond to any attacks leveled by Republican senators.

"I think the best counter for some of those things is going to be Judge Jackson," he said. "The senators are there to ask those probing questions. It’s going to be her job to give the answers."

– Dylan Wells

Ketanji Brown Jackson will wait months to take Supreme Court seat

WASHINGTON – For Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, taking a seat on the Supreme Court will be a study in hurry up and wait.

After President Joe Biden's nominee to the nation's highest court was confirmed by the Senate Thursday, Jackson will have to sit tight for nearly three months for her spot on the nation's highest bench to open – an unusually long delay that may have implications for public perceptions of the court, her ascension to it and a number of high-profile cases.

Roger Wicker: Mississippi senator says Black woman Supreme ...

(CNN) The first Black woman nominated to the US Supreme Court by President Joe Biden will be a "beneficiary" of affirmative action, Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said Friday.

"The irony is that the Supreme Court is at the very same time hearing cases about this sort of affirmative racial discrimination while adding someone who is the beneficiary of this sort of quota," he said Friday in an interview with local radio network SuperTalk Mississippi, referring to the high court's recent decision to reconsider challenges to race-based affirmative action in college admissions.

"The majority of the court may be saying writ large it's unconstitutional. We'll see how that irony works out," he added.

The comments come despite not yet knowing who Biden will nominate. CNN has reached out to Wicker for comment.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer announced this week his plans to retire at the end of the term, giving Biden his first opportunity to select a justice and make good on his campaign promise to nominate a Black woman to the high court.

Read More

Fact check: Ketanji Brown Jackson was the first Black woman ...

The claim: Republicans nominated the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, but she was blocked by Biden

After completing two days of intense questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's name and photo have filled the internet and newspapers alike.

But one Facebook post claims she isn't the historic first she has been presented to be.

A March 25 Facebook post claimed Jackson was not the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court and instead Republicans were responsible for nominating the first Black woman. The post accrued more than 2,000 shares in less than a week.

Text accompanying the image reads: "Fraud: It was Republicans who nominated the 1st Black woman to the SCOTUS & she was BLOCKED & filibustered by... wait for it...... Joe Biden. Media: Crickets."

But this is false. The woman pictured was not nominated to the Supreme Court, and Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment.

Woman pictured wasn't nominated to the Supreme Court

The woman pictured in the Facebook post is Janice Rogers Brown a former justice of the California Supreme Court. Like Jackson, Brown also served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Brown was a D.C. Circuit judge during President George W. Bush's administration, during which there were reports that she was being considered to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Bush, a Republican, ultimately nominated current Justice Samuel Alito instead.

About 17 years later, President Joe Biden announced the Jackson nomination. This was the first time a Black woman was nominated to sit on the Supreme Court.

Biden did not block the nomination of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court

The assertion that Biden blocked Brown from a Supreme Court nomination is wrong, but for a time he did block her confirmation to the D.C. Circuit.

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Biden spent many years on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including an eight-year stint as chair ending in 1995.

While Biden was on the committee in November 2003, Brown was nominated to the D.C. Circuit. She was met with a filibuster, garnering only 53 of the 60 votes needed to overcome that. Biden was among the senators that filibustered Brown and other Bush-appointed nominees from 2003 to 2005.

A group called the Gang of 14, a group of 14 senators which included Biden, negotiated the end of that two-year filibuster in 2005.

It wasn't until June of 2005 that Brown was confirmed by the Senate, becoming the second Black woman to serve as D.C. Circuit judge. Biden voted against her nomination.

A month after Brown's confirmation, her name was floated for a Supreme Court vacancy.

Biden said on CBS' Face the Nation in July 2005 that he would not support a Brown nomination to the nation's highest court: "I can assure you that would be a very, very, very difficult fight and she probably would be filibustered."

Bush never named Brown as his nominee. Alito joined the Supreme Court in 2006.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Republicans nominated the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, but she was blocked by Biden. Jackson was the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court, and she was nominated by Biden.

Our fact-check sources:

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Biden to name first Black woman to SCOTUS as Breyer retires: recap

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer officially announces retirement to President Joe Biden.

Breyer was nominated to the high court by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

He has voted reliably with the Supreme Court's liberal bloc.

Biden says he will nominate a Black woman as Breyer's successor by the end of February.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday formally announced the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer at a White House event, praising the liberal jurist as a "model public servant" and vowing to move swiftly to name his successor.

"I think he's a model public servant, in a time of great division in this country," Biden said.

Biden, who pledged to name a Black woman to the high court, said he planned to name his nominee by the end of February.

At 83, Breyer is the second-most senior associate justice, and his retirement was encouraged by liberals who wanted to ensure Biden's nominee would benefit from a Senate controlled by Democrats.

The president said he would seek out advice from both parties and leading scholars, meet with potential candidates and carefully study their former cases before making his decision over the next month. But he vowed to name an "historic candidate" who is "worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy."

Biden, who presided over Breyer's confirmation as the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee nearly three decades ago, called Breyer's retirement "bittersweet."

"We all had high hopes for the mark he would leave on the history of law and the Constitution," he recalled. "And he's exceeded those hopes in every possible way."

What's next:Breyer retirement lays groundwork for historic nomination of first Black woman to Supreme Court

Fellow justices praise Breyer for wisdom, service – and knock-knock jokes

The other eight members of the Supreme Court offered well wishes for their retiring colleague Thursday, praising Associate Justice Stephen Breyer for his decades of service, wit and joie de vivre at a time when tensions seem to have mounted on the high court.

In a series of statements, Breyer's colleagues applauded his approach to the law and his embrace of civility.

"Justice Stephen G. Breyer is an energetic jurist and dear friend," Chief Justice John Roberts said. "His pragmatism, encyclopedic knowledge, and varied government experience have enriched the court's deliberations."

Roberts also had some fun with his colleague, noting Breyer's penchant for "fanciful hypotheticals during oral argument" -- pet oysters and "tomato children" have both made it into argument transcripts under Breyer's name.

"He is also a reliable antidote to dead airtime at our lunches, moving seamlessly from modern architecture to French cinema, to old radio shows, to a surprisingly comprehensive collection of riddles and knock-knock jokes," Roberts said.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas said that while Breyer is leaving the court "our friendship and deep affection redoubles and endures."

The camaraderie is on display at a time when reports have suggested tension between justices as they tackle culture war issues such as abortion and gun rights this term. NPR recently reported that Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has diabetes, has been avoiding in-person oral arguments and other meetings because she is not comfortable being close to people who are unmasked. Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch has consistently not worn a mask at arguments -- the only member of the court to decline to do so.

Sotomayor and Gorsuch released a statement last week saying they are "warm colleagues and friends."

By all accounts Breyer doesn't appear to have ever been caught up in whatever drama may exist behind the curtain. While not a swing vote, Breyer has long been viewed as a bridge between the ideological factions on the court -- able to find compromise with some of his more conservative colleagues. He has written books about the importance of civility to the court as an institution.

"His passion never manifests itself in anger," said the newest member of the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. "Both in print and in person, Steve aims to persuade through exuberance rather than bite. He is a model of civility."

-- John Fritze

Psaki: Lack of Black women on Supreme Court does not equal lack of qualified candidates

The fact that no Black women have ever been nominated for the Supreme Court is not an indication of a lack of qualified candidates, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.

Instead, she said, it “shows a deficiency of the past selection processes.”

“The president's view is that it is long past time to have a Black woman on the Supreme Court,” she said.

Psaki had been asked whether Biden’s requirement that his nominee be a Black woman is “reverse racism” or otherwise inappropriate.

Psaki said that, in addition to nominat a record number of Black women to serve on the lower courts, Biden has also put forward “the highest level of Ivy League nominees.”

“He has nominated a broad sway of extremely qualified, experienced and credentialed nominees,” she said, “and done that by also making them incredibly diverse.”

-- Maureen Groppe

Breyer 'hand delivered' resignation letter to Biden

Psaki declined to say when Biden was made aware of Breyer's decision but revealed that the liberal jurist hand-delivered his formal resignation letter to the president this morning before the official White House event.

Psaki said the White House would lay out more detail about when Biden learned of Breyer's decision.

-- Courtney Subramanian

Psaki takes aim at Republicans as she points to no public short list to replace Breyer

White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to Republican criticism of Biden's potential pick to succeed Breyer, emphasizing the White House has yet to reveal a list of potential nominees.

"We have not mentioned a single name. We have not put out a list," she said. "If anyone is saying they plan to characterize whoever he nominates, after thorough consideration with both parties, as radical before they knew literally anything about who she is, they just obliterated their own credibility."

Psaki's comments came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., released a statement saying Biden "must not outsource this important decision to the radical left."

She said Biden is grateful to Republican members who have already indicated they plan to work with him.

Asked when the White House plans to release Biden's short list, Psaki said declined to provide a timeline and repeated Biden is reviewing potential candidates.

-- Courtney Subramanian

'Long overdue':Biden reiterates vow to name first Black woman to Supreme Court

McConnell warns Biden against outsourcing SCOTUS pick to ‘radical left’

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called on Biden to nominate a moderate candidate to replace Breyer.

“To the degree that President Biden received a mandate, it was to govern from the middle, steward our institutions, and unite America,” McConnell said in a statement Thursday. “The president must not outsource this important decision to the radical left.”

Democrats are likely to scoff at McConnell’s warning. The GOP leader blocked Barack Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, in 2016 and then put Donald Trump’s nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, on a confirmation fast track.

-- Phillip Bailey

VP Harris to have 'central role' in nomination and confirmation of Breyer replacement

Vice President Kamala Harris will play a central role in finding a nominee to replace Breyer on the Supreme Court, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.

She noted Harris’ past experience on the Senate Judiciary Committee and as California’s attorney general.

Biden, Psaki said, “respects her opinion greatly.”

Ron Klain, Biden’s chief of staff, will also be heavily involved as will senior adviser Cedric Richmond, legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell and others.

During the confirmation process, outside experts will also be brought in to help, according to Psaki.

-- Maureen Groppe

Biden has been considering candidates since last year

Biden has been reviewing the records of potential Supreme Court candidates since last year, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.

“His intention is to nominate a qualified candidate after completing a rigorous process,” she said of the timing.

Biden’s statement that he intends to announce his nomination to replace Stephen Breyer by the end of February makes clear it’s a priority for him, she added.

-- Maureen Groppe

What has Biden said in the past about filling Supreme Court vacancies?

While campaigning for president, Biden promised to name a Black woman to the nation's highest court for the first time in history. On Thursday, he reaffirmed that commitment. Biden already has nominated 62 women to the federal judiciary.

In the past he's commented on everything from court packing to who should get to pick nominees. With the retirement of Justice Breyer, Biden's past remarks could yield some clues about how he will go about picking a replacement for Breyer now.

Read the rest here:What Biden has said about filling vacancies on the nation's highest court

-- Chelsey Cox

Biden invites Breyer to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom

After Beyer spoke, Biden invited the justice and his wife to visit the White House and stay in the Lincoln Bedroom. Biden noted a handwritten copy of former President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is on the wall.

“You’ve got to come and see it,” he said. “Bring your grandchildren as well.”

Breyer had described how his wife, Joanna, paid their grandchildren to memorize the address, which Lincoln delivered during the Civil War.

-- Maureen Groppe

More:Justice Stephen Breyer's notable majority opinions and dissents, from abortion to the death penalty

Biden may be considering Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for SCOTUS

President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday he will nominate a Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court for the first time in the nation's history. One person widely considered to be a top candidate: Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The 51-year-old, Harvard Law grad, who was recently confirmed to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was floated as a possible nominee back in 2016 when President Barack Obama was still in the White House.

You can read more about Judge Jackson here.

-- John Fritze

More:Who is Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? For starters, she once clerked for Justice Breyer

Breyer cites Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

Holding a pocketbook copy of the Constitution, Breyer called the U.S. a “complicated country” that doesn’t always agree. He said the U.S. was founded as “an experiment,” one that continues today, before quoting Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.”

“We are now engaged in a great civil war to determine whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure,” Breyer said.

He expressed optimism that the “great experiment” will continue for future generations.

“I'm an optimist, and I'm pretty sure it will,” he said.

-- Joey Garrison

More:'Stealthy' Justice Stephen Breyer had a big impact on abortion. That legacy is now in jeopardy

Biden declines to take questions about Breyer retirement, nominee

Biden declined to take questions Thursday following brief remarks announcing the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, saying it would be "inappropriate."

"I think it's inappropriate to take questions with the justice here," Biden said. "He's still sitting on the bench. But you'll have plenty of opportunities to get me later today."

Supreme Court justices rarely take questions from reporters but many of the questions Thursday would likely have directed to Biden the frenzied process that will now begin for choosing Breyer's successor.

-- John Fritze

Pragmatist. Institutionalist. Optimist:How Justice Stephen Breyer changed the Supreme Court

Biden to announce decision before the end of February

Biden said it's his intention to announce his decision for Breyer's successor before the end of February.

"I have made no choice at this point," the president said, noting that he plans to invite senators from both parties, leading scholars and lawyers and advisers like Vice President Kamala Harris to offer their points of view.

"In the end, I will nominate a historic candidate, someone who is worthy of Justice Breyer's legacy."

-- Courtney Subramanian

Biden praises Breyer’s legacy

Biden said Breyer exceeded the hopes for him, when he was appointed to the court, “in every possible way.”

In particular, Biden praised Breyer for seeking common ground to bring colleagues together on opinions Biden called Breyer’s opinions practical, sensible and nuanced.

Breyer knew the job of a judge is not to law down the law, but to “get it right,” Biden said. He “gave faith to the notion that the law exists to help the people,” Biden added.

Beyer called Biden’s remarks “terribly nice.”

-- Maureen Groppe

Biden confirms he will nominate first Black woman to SCOTUS

President Joe Biden reiterated Thursday he will nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in the nation’s history.

“It’s long overdue,” Biden said at the White House in an event with Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, who is retiring later this year. “I will keep that commitment.”

Biden, who said he is already reviewing candidates, said he would announce a candidate before the end of February.

-- John Fritze

Biden on Breyer: ‘Today is his day’

Biden called Breyer a “model public servant in a time of great division in this country,” adding that he’s “everything his country could have asked.”

“Today is his day – our day to commend his life of service and his life on the court,” Biden, before going into what he wants from a nominee to replace him.

-- Joey Garrison

Biden 'proud and grateful' to witness Breyer's career

Biden, a former senator who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, said it was "my honor" to vote to confirm Breyer to the U.S. Court of Appeals first in 1980 and later preside over his Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 1994.

He said the pair joked before his remarks about how Biden would be president when he decided to retire.

"I was proud and grateful to be there at the start of his distinguished career in the Supreme Court," Biden said. "And I'm very proud to be here today on this announcement of his retirement."

-- Courtney Subramanian

Biden, Breyer begin remarks

President Joe Biden and Associate Justice Stephen Beyer have entered the Roosevelt Room at the White House, where the two will formally announce Breyer’s retirement.

“This is sort of a bittersweet day for me," Biden said. "Justice Breyer and I go back a long way.”

-- John Fritze

What is the process for Supreme Court nominations?

The process for replacing a Supreme Court justice always is closely watched, but it will take on new intrigue in the divided Senate, where Democrats have struggled to unify behind Biden's agenda.

The Senate is split evenly between the two parties, with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tie-breaking vote. While Democrats control the chamber, moderate senators in the party have stopped several pieces of legislation the Biden administration has championed.

Here is how Biden, and the presidents before him, get their nominee onto the high court: The process for Supreme Court nominations and how long it could take.

--- Rick Rouan

Breyer formally announces retirement in letter to Biden

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer confirmed Thursday he will retire after nearly three decades on the bench, offering his first public statement since the news of his decision broke a day earlier.

"I enormously appreciate the privilege of serving as part of the federal judicial system," Breyer wrote in a letter to the president announcing his retirement. "I have found the work challenging and meaningful."

Breyer’s letter was released by the court minutes before he was set to hold a joint appearance with Biden, who will now begin the process of nominating his successor.

Nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994, Breyer has been a reliable vote for the court’s liberal bloc on cases dealing with abortion, guns and religion.

-- John Fritze

Breyer had a big impact on abortion. Will that legacy survive?

Justice Stephen Breyer may not be the best-known member of the Supreme Court, but the senior-most liberal justice has had a huge impact on the divisive issue of abortion.

As he prepares to leave the court, many of those opinions appear to be in jeopardy.

Breyer has written key opinions expanding the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established the constitutional right to abortion and a subsequent 1992 case. But the court, where conservatives enjoy a 6-3 advantage, has shifted substantially in recent years and a majority has signaled it may undermine those precedents later this year.

You can read more about Breyer’s abortion decisions here:

Abortion rights:'Stealthy' Justice Stephen Breyer had a big impact on abortion. That legacy is now in jeopardy

-- John Fritze

Republicans could delay, but not block Biden's Supreme Court pick if all Democrats back nominee

Republicans could delay the confirmation of Biden’s pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, but they won’t be able to block it by themselves if all Democrats unite behind a nominee.

Under Senate rules that GOP lawmakers changed several years ago, a simple majority is all that’s needed to approve a presidential nomination to the country’s highest court.

That means the 50 Democrats could push through Biden’s pick with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking 51st vote, a fact acknowledged by South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Judiciary Committee that will hold hearings on the eventual nominee.

“If all Democrats hang together – which I expect they will – they have the power to replace Justice Breyer in 2022 without one Republican vote in support,” he tweeted Wednesday shortly after news of Breyer’s retirement broke.

Read the whole story here:Republicans could delay, but not block Biden's Supreme Court pick if all Democrats back nominee

– Ledge King

Opinion: What kind of justice will Ketanji Brown Jackson be? - CNN

(CNN) CNN Opinion asked contributors to weigh in on President Joe Biden's selection of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the US Supreme Court. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the contributors.

Fatima Goss Graves: A nomination that should unite the country

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is an eminently qualified public servant with distinguished experience as a federal judge, and her historic nomination promises an end to the erasure of Black women from our most sacred legal institutions. She brings extensive litigation experience at every level of the federal court system, including distinguished service as a federal public defender. As a district court judge, she ruled on over 550 cases and is renowned for her careful, methodical approach to ensuring equal justice under the law on reproductive rights, disability rights and workers' rights.

Frankly, this is a nomination that should unite the country. Diversity strengthens the integrity of the institution to the broader public and, in particular, the many Black women who face many of the harshest injustices of our system today. It's critical for the US Supreme Court to understand the impact of its rulings in the real world, and it can't do that until it reflects the country it governs. Jackson will move us closer to a more fair and just system for women, for Black Americans and for everyone on the side of equality before the law.

It is incumbent upon US senators to give her a fair and timely confirmation without obstruction, honoring their constitutional duty to advise and consent -- and their moral duty to treat her with the respect and dignity she deserves.

Fatima Goss Graves is president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center.

Elie Honig: A nominee Republicans will be hard-pressed to oppose

First things first: it's about time. It's long past time. For the first time in the history of the US Supreme Court, a Black woman has been nominated as a Justice.

And, to be clear, you will not find a more qualified nominee than Judge (likely soon-to-be Justice) Kentaji Brown Jackson. She graduated from Harvard, both undergrad and law school. She clerked for a federal district court judge and then, in a nice bit of symmetry, nabbed a mega-prestigious clerkship with Justice Stephen Breyer, who she now stands to replace.

She worked in private practice and for the US Sentencing Commission before she became a federal district court judge in 2013. Last year, she was nominated as a federal appellate judge , winning confirmation with 53 votes, including three Republicans. I have seen her in action on the bench, and I came away exceptionally impressed. In the case I covered, she was prepared, sharp, incisive and fair.

Senate Republicans can act one of two ways in the wake of Jackson's nomination. They can dig in and oppose it, but they don't have much of substance to work with -- and they'll likely lose anyway, given the current Democratic Senate majority (which will presumably be coupled with the votes of three Republicans who supported her federal appellate judgeship).

Or Republicans can pick their battles and throw their support behind Jackson, given her qualifications and the seeming inevitably of her confirmation. Maybe it seems quaint -- Breyer himself was confirmed by an 87 to 9 vote back in 1994, which now seems impossible -- but it also could be smart politics.

Elie Honig is a CNN senior legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor, and author of "Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department."

Ed Whelan: Senate Republicans have an opportunity here

In selecting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill Stephen Breyer's seat on the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden has fulfilled his campaign pledge to nominate the first female African American justice.

Biden selected Jackson for additional reasons, of course. Jackson has impressive credentials, and Biden likely feels confident that Jackson will implement the results-oriented, make-it-up-as-you-go-along "living constitutionalism" that progressives espouse.

Biden has already demonstrated that differences in judicial philosophy justify efforts to oppose the confirmation of the first female African American justice. Back in 2005, he even threatened to filibuster President George W. Bush's possible nomination of DC Circuit judge Janice Rogers Brown to the Supreme Court.

The left is likely to make accusations of racism and sexism in response to any concerns expressed over Jackson's vision of the judicial role. But if Senate Republicans assess Jackson on the basis of judicial philosophy, and don't succumb to political pressure because of her race and sex, they will responsibly fulfill their constitutional duty to advise and consent.

The Democrats have control of the Senate, albeit slim control, so Jackson will almost certainly be confirmed. The process will probably be rather quiet. But Senate Republicans should use the opportunity to emphasize that judging is a craft that is distinct from policymaking. They can reinforce the message that the duty of a Supreme Court justice is to discern and apply the meaning that constitutional and statutory provisions bore when they were adopted, not to rewrite those provisions to advance an ideological agenda.

Ed Whelan holds the Antonin Scalia Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. A former law clerk to Justice Scalia, he is co-editor of "The Essential Scalia: On the Constitution, the Courts, and the Rule of Law" and of two other volumes of Scalia's work.

Laura Coates: The power of seeing a former public defender nominated

For me, the power of seeing a Black woman nominated to the highest court in the land is without equal. But what is also extraordinary is that she will be a former federal public defender -- a position she held for 2 1/2 years -- in a country with a legal system still aspiring to be a justice system.

As a prosecutor, I wielded a tremendous amount of power in the exercise of my discretion to pursue (or decline to pursue) charges and autonomy in the way I met my burden of proof. But like the power held by a co-equal branch of government, the power of prosecutors must be checked -- not to disrupt the pursuit of justice but to further it. In a country where race and bias are far too frequently elevated above fairness, public defenders are the welcome foil to balance the system.

The relationship between public defenders and prosecutors may be necessarily adversarial, but it is always symbiotic. Prosecutors get all the credit (and blame) for ensuring accountability, as if they alone believe in it.

The public may mistakenly view those who represent the accused as soft on crime. Indeed, if past is prologue, I expect such an absurd talking point to emerge during Jackson's confirmation hearings. But public defenders are not soft on crime -- they are hard on injustice, which is precisely where we as a society must be. And precisely where a Supreme Court justice ought to be.

I sincerely hope Jackson is afforded the dignity she ensured for the presumed innocent: due process, fairness, equal protection from an abuse of power and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. After all, it's the US Supreme Court.

Laura Coates is a CNN senior legal analyst and author of "Just Pursuit: A Black Prosecutor's Fight For Fairness." She is a former assistant US attorney for the District of Columbia and trial attorney in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice. Coates is the host of the daily "Laura Coates Show" on SiriusXM. Follow her @thelauracoates

Jeffrey Toobin: What kind of justice will Ketanji Brown Jackson be?

One thing that's always said when there's a US Supreme Court nomination is that presidents are often surprised by how their choices turn out. Presidents think the future justice will vote one way, and they wind up voting another way.

Don't believe it. Especially in recent years, the art of picking Supreme Court justices has been refined to a science. All nine of the current justices largely vote in ways that would please the presidents who nominated them. That's likely to be true if Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is confirmed as well.

The myth of the surprised president dates principally from the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, who nominated Earl Warren and William Brennan to the Supreme Court and found, to his dismay, that they were both powerful and outspoken liberals.

Here's one thing to know about the Eisenhower administration: it was a long time ago. In those days, the court was not the public political battleground that it has become, and Eisenhower's choices were motivated more by politics than ideology. (Eisenhower had promised the seat to Warren, then the governor of California, and he chose Brennan to appeal to Catholic voters on the eve of his 1956 reelection.)

It's true that President George H.W. Bush's appointment of David Souter in 1990 ranks as a modest surprise, but his behavior as a moderate on the court was consistent with both his own earlier record as a judge and Bush's overall approach to social issues. Also, 1990 was a long time ago.

In recent years, though, as the court has become the focus of fights on such issues as abortion, guns and affirmative action, ideology has become the main criteria for selections. Presidents (as well as their advisers and supporters) care a great deal about the possibility of ideological mistakes. So they don't make them. President Joe Biden wanted a judicial liberal, and that's what he will get with Jackson. She will not surprise him, or us.

Jeffrey Toobin is CNN's chief legal analyst and the author of "The Nine" and "The Oath."

A'shanti F. Gholar: An important step in addressing racial injustice

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's nomination is an important step in addressing the injustices in the US judicial system, but it's not the only step we need to take. America's legal system has always looked different for Black women, who have historically been discriminated against. That will not change until we see more Black women jurists like Jackson in positions of legal power, and that begins with empowering Black women to be the leaders they deserve to be.

Jackson is the ideal role model in this regard. Her record is one that has championed equity and justice . She fought to defend the rights of incarcerated individuals, issued rulings that protected labor and women's rights and upheld the integrity of our constitution when it was under attack by the Trump administration.

Along with her wealth of judicial expertise, she also brings with her experiences and identities that have never been enjoyed by another Supreme Court justice -- and have been sorely missed in the highest court in America. I look forward to her swift approval process through the US Senate and hopefully to her being seated on a bench that doesn't require her to bring her own folding chair.

A'shanti F. Gholar , former national deputy director of community engagement and director of African American Engagement for the Democratic National Committee, is the president of Emerge , an organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office.

Erwin Chemerinsky: Jackson may be the stabilizing force the Supreme Court needs

President Joe Biden simply could not have done better than his choice of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the United States Supreme Court. In the world of law, credentials don't get better than hers. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, she clerked for judges in the federal district court and the federal court of appeals. She was also a clerk for Justice Stephen Breyer, who she is now poised to replace. Jackson has had extensive experience in a variety of settings and has served as a federal judge since 2013.

She also brings to the court experiences and perspectives the current justices lack. Most obviously, she is the first Black woman to be nominated to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, Jackson will also be the only justice on the current court to have worked as a public defender. She has significant experience as a trial judge, something only Justice Sonia Sotomayor has among those now on the high court.

As I think about what makes for a great justice, Jackson has it all: keen intelligence, enormous experience, unquestionable integrity, a terrific judicial temperament and a vision of justice. She should be confirmed swiftly by the Senate and start what will hopefully be a long career on the Supreme Court. Many will rightfully point out the fact that she won't change the current ideological balance of the court by replacing Breyer. But if Jackson is still a justice in 2040 and 2050, she may be a stabilizing force on a very different court.

Erwin Chemerinsky is dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He is the author of "Presumed Guilty: How the Supreme Court Empowered the Police and Subverted Civil Rights."

Jennifer Rodgers: The Supreme Court needs more diversity. Justice Jackson offers just that

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden's nominee to fill the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer's seat on the Supreme Court, has it all. She is a highly accomplished lawyer and an experienced jurist with the sterling educational and clerkship credentials expected of someone about to ascend to the pinnacle of the legal profession. And, as a Black woman, Jackson will bring a historic perspective and important representation to the nation's highest court.

Jackson shares all of the above characteristics with the other two final candidates Biden was considering: California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger and US District Judge J. Michelle Childs . All three women are also 55 or under; nominating someone relatively young has become close to mandatory in recent years for Supreme Court nominees of presidents of both parties since justices can serve for life. But what distinguishes Jackson from the others, and what very well may have led to her selection, is her service as a criminal defense lawyer, both as a federal public defender and in private practice . She offers the kind of professional diversity that has become one of the calling cards of Biden's judicial nominations strategy.

Biden is right to prioritize elevating judges who bring different backgrounds and experiences to the courts, especially to the Supreme Court, where not a single justice has Jackson's experience defending criminal cases. The Supreme Court needs more diversity, of all kinds; hopefully Jackson will be the first step in making that become a reality.

Jennifer Rodgers is a former federal prosecutor, adjunct professor of clinical law at NYU School of Law, lecturer-in-law at Columbia Law School and a CNN legal analyst.

Elliot Williams: Jackson's airtight resume is GOP kryptonite

The legal profession is plagued by elitism. It's easy for me to say this, having attended Ivy League schools myself, but prestigious academic institutions do not confer much of anything that can't be gained from other schools.

Of the nine justices currently on the Supreme Court, however, eight have degrees from Harvard or Yale. If confirmed, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has two Harvard degrees, will perpetuate the Ivies' dominance on the Supreme Court.

While I will be the first to argue that the Supreme Court desperately needs justices with more varied educational backgrounds, in Jackson's case, her credentials from an elite institution are a good thing.

Here's why. Shortly after President Joe Biden announced he would fulfill his promise to put a Black woman on the court -- an uncontroversial statement given past presidents' commitments to make barrier-breaking nominations -- a US senator went on the record to call the eventual nominee a " beneficiary " of affirmative action. Another senator expressed doubts about whether the nominee would know "a law book from a J. Crew catalog." A prominent conservative took to Twitter and predicted the nominee would be a "lesser black woman." (He later deleted the tweets and apologized, calling it "inartful.")

At their cores, each of these statements was a manifestation of disbelief that -- gasp! -- a Black woman might be just as qualified as any other previous nominee to serve on the Supreme Court.

Black people face enough barriers in workplaces as it is. For instance, job applicants with "Black-sounding" names are less likely to get interviewed than their White counterparts, and Black women with natural hairstyles are seen as less professional and competent . I speak firsthand in saying that being Black and successful in America is a constant exercise in having to prove you are worthy. That struggle doesn't end in the marble halls of the Supreme Court.

If, today, Jackson's having two Harvard degrees and an otherwise airtight resume is what it takes to quiet at least some of the criticism, then so be it.

Elliot Williams is a CNN legal analyst. He is a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department. Follow him on Twitter @elliotcwilliams

Raul A. Reyes: A justice who sees the basic humanity of immigrants

In Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden has put forth a US Supreme Court nominee with impeccable credentials and a stellar legal background.

In addition to her degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, she brings diverse professional experience to the high court; she has worked at large and small firms, as a public defender, and served on the US Sentencing Commission, where she backed a proposal to reduce federal drug trafficking sentences. This type of varied experience will serve her well on a court that often seems out of touch and has seen its public approval rating drop.

According to Associated Press polling , the majority of African Americans say it's very or extremely important that a Black woman serves on the Supreme Court, and the President has now delivered on a key promise.

Jackson will likely earn support from Latino advocacy groups as well, as our communities have much in common in the struggle for civil rights and social justice.

Jackson's rulings on immigration are also important, as congressional inaction and legal challenges to immigration policy have given the Supreme Court an outsized role on this issue.

Although in several cases she sought to protect the rights of migrants, she also denied a challenge to Trump's border wall -- so no one can accuse her of favoring "open borders." Most importantly, whether ruling for or against migrants, Jackson has avoided using terms like "illegals" or "aliens." As the National Immigration Law Center notes , this acknowledges the basic humanity of immigrants.

The Supreme Court holds immense power over our daily lives, on issues ranging from health care to the environment to reproductive and voting rights. At a time when many Americans have lost faith in institutions, Jackson will help restore trust and stability to the high court. Her historic nomination deserves bipartisan support.

Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and a member of the USA Today board of contributors. Follow him on Twitter @RaulAReyes

Laphonza Butler: What Jackson proves about breaking the mold

President Joe Biden's nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman Supreme Court nominee in the court's history is a tremendous moment for America. After a rigorous process, Jackson has proven that she has the experience and character to do this vital job.

As a Black woman, I am thrilled for what this means for me, my daughter and my community.

While I rejoice in the historic nature of her nomination, I also want to celebrate the incredible qualifications Jackson brings to this role. A daughter of teachers , she went to Harvard Law School, has served in nearly every part of our legal system and brings that kind of well-rounded experience that we need on the highest court. It's no wonder that she has been confirmed three times on a bipartisan vote.

Unfortunately, even being an impeccably qualified nominee who has been praised by both former President Barack Obama for being an "unwavering voice for justice and fairness" and by former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan , who gave her "unequivocal" praise for her integrity and intellect, Jackson will almost certainly face racist and sexist comments that come with being the first.

At EMILY's List, we have seen far too many history-makers and ground-breakers have their accomplishments questioned and their qualifications undermined. But we know what Jackson's example proves: to be the first and to break the mold, you bring qualifications, experience and character that is unrivaled.

I am proud to support her and look forward to the legacy she will hopefully create on the court.

Laphonza Butler is the president of EMILY's List, the nation's largest resource for women in politics. Butler grew up in Magnolia, Mississippi and served as a union leader and adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

Adam White: Jackson's nomination gives senators an important incentive

Adam White

Every US Supreme Court nomination presents an opportunity for Americans and our elected leaders to reflect on the court's crucial, singular role in American government: to decide cases under the rule of law, according to the constitution and laws of our country.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was recognized as the frontrunner for this seat because she is a respected judge on one of the nation's most important courts. Her discussions with US senators, in visits and in the public hearing, will be an ideal forum for serious constitutional debate.

Judicial nominees are rightly reluctant to prejudge issues, especially when the nominee is a sitting judge. If Jackson follows this tradition, then senators will have all the more incentive to ask her about the bigger picture: her view of the court's role in government and its responsibility to faithfully interpret the laws as written.

In an era when the Supreme Court is enduring partisan attacks on its legitimacy, and facing dangerous threats to pack the court for partisan purposes, it is crucial for senators -- and all Americans -- to know that the next justice is committed to preserving the rule of law and the court's indispensable constitutional role.

Adam White is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In 2021, President Joe Biden appointed him to the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mini Timmaraju: A smart choice for upholding reproductive freedom

The nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson -- the first Black woman ever nominated to the US Supreme Court -- is an historic and exciting moment.

She is an immensely qualified judge who will bring a new, much-needed and long-overdue perspective to the court. Not only that, Jackson has a demonstrated record of upholding reproductive freedom , a critical consideration with the right to abortion facing unprecedented attacks.

Jackson's nomination comes at a pivotal moment for the court. Her confirmation won't change the balance of the court or the outcome of the looming decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization -- the case directly challenging Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion. However, we must seize this chance to confirm a justice who will work to protect our most cherished rights and freedoms and help to shape the future of our country in the decades to come.

The anti-choice movement and its political allies spent decades working to install their ideologues on our nation's highest court. The confirmations of Trump's justices to the Supreme Court cemented a majority that is unmistakably hostile to abortion, and that won't be easily undone. But confirming justices like Jackson is how we move closer to a future in which all of our families and communities thrive -- a future in which there is equal justice for all of us.

With so much on the line, we can't leave anything on the table in our fight to confirm Jackson to the court.

Mini Timmaraju is the President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, an organization that advocates for abortion access in USA.

Paul Callan: Timing is everything

With Russian troops on the march in Ukraine, Americans have not been sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to see whom President Joe Biden will nominate to the US Supreme Court.

Instead, they are glued to their television sets wondering if Russian President Vladimir Putin is crazy enough to trigger World War III in his quest to rebuild the former Soviet Union.

Biden's attempt to change the subject from war, inflation and the economy to the Supreme Court may hurt Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation prospects. The timing of this announcement means the White House has lost an important opportunity to rally the public behind Jackson before Republicans go on the offensive.

No doubt, Biden's nominee is highly qualified for the position. Jackson checks all the right boxes -- she holds a Harvard Law degree, clerked for federal judges and served as a public defender. She now sits as a federal appellate judge on the prestigious DC Circuit Court. She appears to be widely respected in the legal profession, and progressives have already applauded Biden's decision to nominate her. Republicans, on the other hand, are likely to say that she is too radical for the Supreme Court.

Ironically, her biggest obstacle to a swift confirmation is more likely to be Putin than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. With Americans more focused on the war in Ukraine than the Supreme Court, Jackson's confirmation is unlikely to get the attention it deserves. Americans will need an opportunity to get to know Jackson, and the initial publicity surrounding any nominee serves an important educational purpose. Without that public support, Jackson could be more vulnerable to damaging attacks from the GOP.

Announcing Jackson's nomination at this moment, given the current crisis in Ukraine, is a rookie mistake for a president languishing in the polls. As a former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden seems to have forgotten that even in the selection process for Supreme Court nominees, timing is everything.