'Powerful notion': Biden celebrates Jackson's historic confirmation

Flanked by two historic firsts, President Joe Biden on Friday underscored the significance of fulfilling his campaign promise to confirm the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Biden, speaking on the White House's South Lawn to celebrate Kentanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation to the nation’s highest court, leaned into what the incoming, barrier-breaking justice means for women, particularly young Black women, across the country. He spoke as Vice President Kamala Harris stood on his right, and Jackson on his left.

“Look, it’s a powerful thing when people can see themselves in others. Think about that,” Biden said. “It’s a powerful, powerful, powerful notion. And that’s one of the reasons I so strongly believed we needed a court that looks like America.”

The White House celebration comes after the Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Jackson in a 53-47 vote to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. Biden praised Jackson for her restraint as she faced tough, and at times confrontational, questioning from Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee — interrogation that the president said amounted to “verbal abuse.” And Biden thanked Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for “setting aside partisanship” and voting to confirm his nominee.

Biden used the moment to highlight other historic firsts in administration, from the Black women in his Cabinet to the vice president, the first woman and first Black person to hold that office and who the president said was the “first really smart decision he made in this administration.” He touted the record-breaking number of Black women judges he’s nominated to federal courts, and that he’s spent a lot of time thinking about today and what it would mean for the nation.

“I could see it as a day of hope, a day of promise, a day of progress. A day when once again the moral arc of the universe, as Barack used to quote all the time, bends a little more toward justice,” Biden said, recalling a favorite quote of former President Barack Obama.

While Jackson’s elevation to the nation's highest court does little to change its ideological balance, court-watchers suggest her opinions will be worth watching. Her perspective as a Black woman and former public defender will bring new perspectives to the court — potentially holding sway with some of her colleagues. Biden on Friday praised these qualifications, noting what her resume could mean for the future of the court.

“A federal judge who has served on the second most powerful court in America, behind the Supreme Court. A former federal public defender with the ability to explain complicated issues in the law in ways everybody, all people can understand. A new perspective,” Biden said.