Ketanji Brown Jackson Heads Towards Likely Confirmation

The Senate Judiciary Committee completed the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for US Appeals Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson last week, with Jackson likely heading towards confirmation to become the first black woman on the Supreme Court given Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) announcement that he will support her nomination.

Jackson, who was nominated to succeed retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, was first installed on the US District Court for the District of Columbia in 2013 by President Obama and was elevated to the Appeals Court for the DC Circuit in 2021 by President Biden. Prior to her service on the federal bench, Jackson was vice chair of the US Sentencing Commission and had worked as a federal public defender.

Jackson’s ascension to the Supreme Court would likely not have a major effect on the ideological makeup of the court, as she, widely perceived as a liberal jurist, would be replacing Breyer, another liberal jurist. One possible shift, however, would be in the court’s approach to certain criminal justice issues. Breyer was often deferential to prosecutors and police, while Jackson’s record does not show such a deference.

 

Biden Struggles to Gain Political Footing Ahead of Midterms

President Joe Biden’s approval continues to lag as several domestic and foreign policy challenges cast a shadow over his presidency.

While coronavirus cases have been dropping nationwide, inflation remains a top issue among voters ahead of the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. Biden’s approval rating stands at 40.7%, according to the 538 polling aggregate, around the same level as former President Donald Trump’s average rating when he was president.

The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine also poses a challenge for the administration. Biden faces pressure from both those arguing for a more interventionist stance as well as those arguing for a more hands-off approach.

A possible positive development for the president is his nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court caused by the retirement of Stephen Breyer. While Jackson’s ascension of the court will not cause any substantial change in the ideological makeup of the court, Democrats hope the first black woman on the Supreme Court will excite their base.