> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson 53–47, Making Her First Black Woman Chosen for Supreme Court - URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/taq-historical-2022-04-09-us/ - Published: 2022-04-10T03:59:00.000Z - Updated: 2022-04-10T03:59:00.000Z - Description: The Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court 53–47, with three Republicans joining Democrats in a historic vote for the first Black woman selected as a justice. - Author: TAQ Staff - Tags: US, #Import 2026-08-31 11:05 The Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Thursday by a 53–47 vote, making her the first Black woman selected to serve as a justice and giving President Joe Biden his first appointment to the nation’s highest court. Every senator who caucuses with Democrats voted for confirmation, joined by Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah. The [Senate’s official daily record](https://www.dailypress.senate.gov/thursday-april-7-2022/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) documented the final vote after weeks of committee hearings, floor debate and procedural maneuvering. Jackson is expected to succeed Justice Stephen Breyer when his retirement becomes effective at the end of the Court’s current term. The outcome was historic but not unexpected by the time the roll was called. The same three Republicans had already announced their support, ensuring that Jackson would clear the 50-vote threshold without requiring Vice President Kamala Harris to break a tie. The [Senate floor schedule](https://www.periodicalpress.senate.gov/on-the-floor/501/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) recorded confirmation as the chamber’s central action Thursday. ## A 53–47 coalition crosses a narrow partisan divide The three Republican votes are significant in a Senate where Supreme Court confirmations have become intensely polarized. Collins, Murkowski and Romney each said their support rested on Jackson’s qualifications and judicial temperament even when they might disagree with particular legal views or outcomes. Their votes gave the confirmation a bipartisan margin while leaving most Republican senators in opposition. Democrats emphasized Jackson’s experience as a federal public defender, trial judge, appellate judge and member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said in his [confirmation statement](https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/durbin-statement-on-the-historic-confirmation-of-ketanji-brown-jackson-to-be-an-associate-justice-of-the-supreme-court?ref=theamericanquorum.com) that the vote marked a long-delayed milestone for the judiciary and placed on the Court a jurist with a professional background different from that of most recent nominees. Republican opponents focused on aspects of Jackson’s sentencing record, her philosophy of judging and concerns that her approach could be too aligned with progressive legal arguments. Jackson rejected those characterizations during her hearings, repeatedly describing her method as beginning with the text, following precedent and applying the facts and law of each case. ## The nomination survived a committee deadlock The path to the floor highlighted how closely divided the Senate is. The Judiciary Committee split 11–11 on whether to report the nomination, with every Democrat voting yes and every Republican voting no. That tie prevented the committee from formally reporting the nomination under the usual process, forcing the full Senate to use a discharge procedure. On Monday, the Senate voted to discharge Jackson’s nomination from committee. Durbin’s [April 4 statement](https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/durbin-statement-on-the-successful-discharge-vote-for-ketanji-brown-jackson-nominated-to-be-an-associate-justice-of-the-supreme-court?ref=theamericanquorum.com) described the procedural vote as the necessary step to place the nomination before the full chamber. The episode demonstrated that a committee tie can slow a nomination but does not necessarily block it when a majority of the full Senate is prepared to proceed. The result also reflects changes in Senate rules made over the past decade. Supreme Court nominees can be confirmed by a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes once effectively required to end a filibuster. In a 50–50 Senate, that rule means a unified majority party can confirm a justice with the vice president’s tie-breaking vote if necessary. ## Professional reviews strengthened the case for confirmation Jackson entered the final vote with the American Bar Association’s highest professional rating. The ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary had unanimously rated her [“Well Qualified”](https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2022/03/aba-committee-rates-judge-ketanji-brown-jackson-well-qualified/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) after interviewing judges and lawyers familiar with her work. Representatives of the committee later explained the evaluation during the Judiciary Committee’s final hearing day. In its [March 24 testimony announcement](https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/aba-news-archives/2022/03/aba-representatives-to-testify-about-rating-of-supreme-court-nominee-ketanji-brown-jackson/?ref=theamericanquorum.com), the ABA said its evaluation centered on integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament. The rating is advisory and does not determine a senator’s vote, but it gave Jackson’s supporters an independent professional assessment to place alongside her prior Senate confirmations. Jackson’s recent confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was particularly relevant. Senators had reviewed much of the same professional history less than a year ago, and Collins, Murkowski and Lindsey Graham voted for her then. Graham opposed the Supreme Court nomination, while Collins and Murkowski remained in support and Romney joined them. ## Representation changes; the Court’s immediate balance does not Jackson’s confirmation carries immense symbolic weight. In more than two centuries, no Black woman has served on the Supreme Court. Senator Mazie Hirono, in an [April 7 statement](https://www.hirono.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-hirono-votes-to-confirm-judge-ketanji-brown-jackson-to-serve-as-an-associate-justice-of-the-supreme-court?ref=theamericanquorum.com), emphasized the significance of having a justice whose life and professional experiences broaden the perspectives represented on the Court. The appointment will not, however, immediately change the Court’s ideological balance. Jackson is replacing Breyer, one of the Court’s three more liberal members, while six justices appointed by Republican presidents remain. The most immediate change is therefore in biography, professional experience and representation rather than the numerical alignment that has shaped recent decisions. Nor does Thursday’s vote make Jackson an active justice immediately. Breyer has said he will retire when the Court completes its current term, assuming a successor has been confirmed. Jackson’s confirmation secures that succession in advance and avoids a vacancy while the Senate is approaching a midterm election. ## A completed constitutional process, with consequences still ahead The confirmation brings to a close a process Biden began by promising during the 2020 campaign that he would nominate a Black woman if given a Supreme Court vacancy. Breyer’s retirement created that opportunity, and Jackson’s combination of federal appellate experience, trial-court service and public-defense work made her the administration’s choice. The political fight over the nomination was sharp, but it did not produce the kind of uncertainty surrounding several recent Supreme Court confirmations. Jackson answered questions over four hearing days, the Senate established a clear majority, and three Republican votes gave the final result a modest bipartisan dimension. Her judicial influence will be measured over years, through opinions, coalitions and the cases that reach the Court. The constitutional milestone is immediate. By a 53–47 vote, the Senate has selected Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the 116th justice and the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States.