WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris couldn’t hold back a broad smile and a crack in her voice as she guided the Senate’s final steps to confirming the first Black woman to the Supreme Court Thursday.
And after Harris announced the results of the final vote for Ketanji Brown Jackson, she let applause carry on from the Democrats and members of the Congressional Black Caucus who lined the back of the chamber. The former senator from California would bang the gavel to bring back order, but she didn’t try too hard.
It was among the actions and speeches, grand and small, that Democrats used to mark a day that broke down a barrier to the highest court in the nation.