By Vihaan Majumdar
President Biden announced his pick to replace retiring justice Stephen Breyer, nominating DC Appeals Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. The move comes after Breyer announced his retirement following months of speculation and pressure from liberals, who wanted to avoid a situation similar to that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg that would tip the scale of the Supreme Court to the conservatives even further, with the Senate likely to flip to the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections. While confirming Jackson will not affect the current balance of the Supreme Court, it gives liberal voices a seat on the court for decades to come.
In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Jackson as a perfect pick for the Supreme Court and promised a rapid confirmation. Democrats, in recent times, have struggled to get anything through the Senate, with senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) both resisting attempts to undo the legislative filibuster, the Senate rule that requires 60 votes for a bill to pass the senate. The Senate is currently split 50-50 with Democrats in control due to Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking vote. However, the Jackson nomination is seen as a chance for Democrats to unite, as both Manchin and Sinema supported Jackson during her nomination to the Appeals Court for the District of Columbia. Republican Senators Susan Collins (ME), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Lindsey Graham (SC) also voted to confirm her.
In meetings with senators, Jackson was praised by both Democrats and Republicans alike. Manchin himself stated there were no red flags in their meeting, while Josh Hawley (R-MO), a perennial source of controversy, praised Jackson, but backed a request by Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to have more of her records released by the sentencing committee, which she sat on from 2010 to 2014.
