Richard Cowan, Andrew Chung and Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – On Thursday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Ketanji brown Jackson to be the Supreme Court’s first Black woman. It is a historic moment for America as President Joe Biden aims to bring a wider range of background to the federal judiciary.

In February, President Obama nominated the federal appellate judge aged 51 to the top job in the nation’s top judiciary body. He will succeed Justice Stephen Breyer, 83.

Jackson appears to be confirmed as Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney are the only Republicans who have pledged their support for her. After the Judiciary Committee’s deadlock on the nomination according to party lines, the Senate voted 53-47 in favor of the nomination. For confirmation, a simple majority is required.

Jackson, if confirmed would replace Breyer on the liberal bloc in a court that has a 6-3 majority and is becoming more assertive. Breyer will continue to serve the current court term, which is usually late June. Jackson would then be officially sworn into office. Jackson was a Supreme Court Clerk for Breyer early in her career.

Jackson’s appointment to the Supreme Court will not be finalized until Jackson is a member of the bench. Major cases include one that would overturn the 1973 landmark decision which legalized abortion in the United States and another that might expand gun rights.

Jackson won approval despite opposition from Republicans. This included attacks on Jackson’s record as a trial judge, and attempts to depict her as a liberal activist bent to conform to their beliefs.

After eight years of service as a federal judge, Biden elected Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia Circuit last year. Jackson is as young and capable of serving for many decades, just like Donald Trump’s conservative predecessors.

Jackson said that Jackson was born following the passage by Congress of significant civil rights laws to combat discrimination against Blacks and other minorities in voting and housing. Jackson referred to the fact her parents were victims of lawful racial discrimination in Miami.

Jackson stated that she hopes to bring the Supreme Court similar experiences to those of the previous 115 justices: her own personal perspectives and life experiences. Hers was as a federal Judge, court-appointed criminal defense lawyer, and member of a federal criminal commission.

Biden has sought to make the federal judiciary more inclusive of minorities and women. Jackson was appointed by Biden to fulfill a 2020 presidential campaign promise to name a Black woman as Supreme Court justice. To date, there have been only two Black justices to this court: Thurgood Marshall who died in 1993 and Clarence Thomas, who was first appointed in 1991.

Jackson will be the sixth female Supreme Court justice. She joins current Supreme Court members Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan. Sotomayor, a Hispanic woman who has served as a judge in the past, is the last Hispanic to do so. In 1789, was created the Supreme Court.