President Joe Biden has nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. If confirmed, she will make history as the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court. President Biden officially announced the judge as his selection on Friday (Feb. 25) afternoon. According to CNN, Judge Jackson reportedly received a phone call from the President on Thursday night accepting the offer.
Judge Jackson currently sits on Washington, D.C.’s appellate court, where she appeared Friday morning for hearings. President Biden officially met with the 51-year-old during a secret meeting in January the news outlet reported. Over the past year, POTUS has learned her work through reading her opinions, and other writings as well as the work of others who were on his list of potential picks, which included Judge J. Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.
A seat on the Supreme Court became vacant when Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement in January.
“President Biden sought a candidate with exceptional credentials, unimpeachable character, and unwavering dedication to the rule of law,” read a White House statement. “He also sought a nominee—much like Justice Breyer—who is wise, pragmatic, and has a deep understanding of the Constitution as an enduring charter of liberty. And the President sought an individual who is committed to equal justice under the law and who understands the profound impact that the Supreme Court’s decisions have on the lives of the American people.”
Prior to serving on the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson worked as United States District Judge for the District of Columbia from 2013 through 2021. She has been confirmed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis three times—twice as judge and once to serve on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Miami, Judge Jackson graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, then attended Harvard Law School, where she graduated cum laude and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, despite early discouragement from a high school guidance counselor.