Judge's confirmation mirrors US political divide

WASHINGTON－The US Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the Supreme Court in a largely partisan vote on Thursday amid the political divide on Capitol Hill.

The final vote was 53 to 47, with only three Republicans joining Democrats and independents in supporting Jackson to become the first African-American woman on the highest court.

US President Joe Biden and Jackson watched the Senate vote, presided over by Vice-President Kamala Harris, from the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Thursday afternoon.

"We've taken another step toward making our highest court reflect the diversity of America," Biden tweeted alongside a photo of him taking a selfie with Jackson.

Since the Supreme Court was established in the United States in 1789, 115 justices have served on the bench. Of them, 108 have been white men.

Biden announced in late February the nomination of Jackson to succeed 83-year-old liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who will retire this summer.

It was one of Biden's major promises to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy with an African-American woman that arguably helped turn his 2020 campaign around and set him on a path to the White House.

An event was scheduled at the White House for Friday for the confirmation of Jackson's nomination, but she won't be sworn in until after Breyer－the oldest justice of the Supreme Court－leaves the post.

Jackson, who has sat on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit since June 2021, clerked for Breyer during the institution's 1999-2000 term.

Jackson, 51, waded through a contentious confirmation process in the evenly divided Senate.

While Senate Democrats have praised Jackson's qualifications as well as the historic nature of her nomination, most Republicans have cast doubt on her past rulings.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who voted against Jackson's nomination along with 46 other Republicans, argued on Thursday that he is concerned about what he sees as a "long and disturbing record of using judicial activism to go soft on crime".

The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the US judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution.

This year, the Supreme Court will rule on cases involving a series of major issues, including abortion, affirmative action and gun control.

Court watchers say Jackson is expected to vote very similarly to Breyer and her ascension won't change the Supreme Court's ideological balance, in which conservatives have a 6-3 majority over liberals.

CNN legal analyst Joan Biskupic believes Jackson, 32 years younger than Breyer, could "bring some fresh thoughts, some fresh blood, if not a different ideology than his".

Xinhua - Agencies