President Joe Biden blasted Republican attacks against Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at her confirmation hearings during a celebration of her ascent to the Supreme Court on Friday.
Mr Biden, who as a senator was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee that oversees Supreme Court confirmations, said that he expected that the woman he would nominate to replace Justice Stephen Breyer would face a tough confirmation process but that he was appalled by the way she was treated in her hearings.
“It was verbal abuse,” Mr Biden said during a speech on the South Lawn of the White House a day after the Senate voted to confirm her 53 to 47. “The anger, the constant interruptions, the most vile, baseless assertions & accusations. In the face of it all, Judge Jackson showed the incredible character & integrity she possesses.”
At the same time, he praised Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine for their confirmation votes.
“I hope I don’t get them in trouble but I want to thank three Republicans who voted for Judge Jackson,” he said. “Senator Collins, who is a woman of integrity. Senator Murkowski, who is the same way in Alaska, up for reelection. And Mitt Romney, whose dad stood up like he did. His dad stood up and made these decisions on civil rights.”
Speaking to an audience packed with a who’s who of Black official Washington — including much of the Congressional Black Caucus — and civil rights leaders including Rev Al Sharpton and Rev Jesse Jackson, Mr Biden said the day was a fulfillment of his campaign pledge to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
“When I made a commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court I could see this day,” he told the crowd, many of whom began arriving more than an hour before the scheduled start of the event, making the atmosphere on White House South Lawn something more akin to a rock festival or a joyous family reunion than the solemn swearing-in of a Justice on the nation’s highest court.
Some guests greeted each other with hugs as if they hadn’t seen each in years — a strong possibility given the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rev Sharpton, wearing a narrow pinstripe suit and a broad smile, sat next to a broadly smiling Rev Jackson in the front row. Though Rev Jackson, who has Parkinson’s disease, sat in a wheelchair, he occasionally stood with the help of an aide to snap photos with other attendees.
The man who’d shepherded Judge Jackson’s confirmation through an evenly divided Senate, former senator Doug Jones, strode about the lawn like a conquering hero, occasionally pausing to receive congratulatory embraces from former colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Applause rang out across the South Lawn when Judge — soon to be Justice — Jackson’s parents, Ellery and Johnny Brown, emerged from the West Wing, flanked by her two daughters, Talia and Leila.
Minutes later, the next Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court emerged accompanied Mr Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Ms Harris, the first Black woman to service in her role, noted the historic nature of the confirmation, and said the Harvard-educated jurist “will inspire generations of leaders” who she predicted would “watch your confirmation hearings and read your decisions” in the future.
The Vice President recalled how she had drafted a note to her goddaughter while presiding over the judge’s confirmation vote on the Senate dais Thursday afternoon.
“I told her that I felt such a deep sense of pride and joy, and about what this moment means for our nation and for her future,” she said. “And I will tell you — her braids are just a little longer than yours — but as I wrote to her, I told her what I knew this would mean for her life, and all that she has in terms of potential”.
The celebration came a day after the Senate 53 to 47 voted to confirm Ms Jackson to be the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
Mr Biden also noted that he has nominated more Black women to the federal bench than all of his predecessors combined, and has appointed numerous women of colour to his cabinet.
“it's a powerful thing when people can see themselves in others — I bet every one of you can go back and think of a time in your life where there was a teacher and family member, neighbor, somebody who made you believe that you can be whatever you want it to be. It's a powerful, powerful, powerful notion,” he said, adding that the idea of representation is why he believes “so strongly” that the Supreme Court should “look like America”.
“People of every generation of every race of every background felt this moment, and they feel it now. They feel a sense of pride and hope and belonging and believing and knowing the promise America includes everybody, all of us,” he said. “That's the American experiment”.
Speaking for herself a short time later, Judge Jackson thanked Mr Biden for “honouring” her with the “extraordinary challenge” of serving on the nation’s highest court.
She pledged to “rule independently, without fear or favour” once she takes the bench, but said her task in speaking to the crowd that day was to give “heartfelt thanks” to those she credited with helping her, including her parents, brother, in-laws, husband, and daughters.
“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States — but we've made it, we've made it all of us, all of us. And our children are telling me that they see now, more than ever, that here in America, anything is possible”.
Speaking to her status as a “role model,” Judge Jackson said she took it as both a responsibility and an opportunity.
“I am feeling up to the task primarily because I know that I am not alone. I am standing on the shoulders of my own role models, generations of Americans who never had anything close to this kind of opportunity, but who got up every day, and went to work, believing in the promise of America, showing others through their determination, and yes, their perseverance, that good good things can be done in this great country,” she said.
