President Joe Biden is anticipated to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the United States Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, who she clerked for during the 1999-2000 term.
Jackson is no stranger to the Senate confirmation gauntlet, and this will be her third time before the Senate. In September 2012, she was appointed by President Obama to serve as a U.S. district judge in Washington, DC, and was confirmed by a voice vote after the Senate recess in March 2013.
In 2021, President Biden nominated her to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to fill the vacancy left by Merrick Garland, who left the bench to become attorney general.
She answered a series of questions in writing posed by Senators on several issues, including specific questions concerning the religion clauses. (See https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Brown%20Jackson%20Responses1.pdf ) She carefully worded her answers to avoid overstepping Supreme Court precedent but are worth reading as the questions provide a template for what will likely be a grueling Senate confirmation process.
In June 2021, she was confirmed to the 10th Circuit by the U.S. Senate in a partisan 53-44 vote, which included three abstentions. A few Republicans joined the Democrats in voting for her.
Supreme Court nomination processes have become increasingly contentious over the past few years, and this will likely be no different. Jackson deserves serious consideration from the United States Senate.
