Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is expected to become the nation’s first Black female to join the Supreme Court later this week, despite the fact that the bipartisan group of senators deadlocked in a vote to advance her nomination.
On Monday afternoon, April 4, 2022, Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination process came to a standstill after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-11 along party lines, according to CNN. This vote was to consider taking Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate floor for consideration or whether to end the process.
However, Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, called for a vote to end the deadlock. This time, every Democrat and three Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — voted in support of Jackson.
Romney, a moderate Republican who was frequently the object of former GOP President Donald Trump’s wrath, explained his rationale for supporting Jackson’s historic bid.
I intend to vote in support of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to be an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. My statement: pic.twitter.com/uGaxx8sJn5
— Senator Mitt Romney (@SenatorRomney) April 4, 2022
Fifty-one votes will be needed from the the full Senate to confirm her nomination. A final confirmation vote is expected to take place on Thursday or Friday this week.
This comes as good news for Jackson supporters as she was subjected to sometimes ruthless questioning from certain judiciary committee members, particularly from Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsay Graham of South Carolina.
