Highlights from Senate vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson

The Senate voted 53-47 in a bipartisan vote on Jackson's nomination.

Last Updated: April 7, 2022, 5:29 PM EDT

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court in its 233-year history, was confirmed by the Senate in a 53-47 vote Thursday.

She got three Republican votes, marking a bipartisan victory for President Joe Biden and his high court nominee.

Mar 22, 2022, 1:37 PM EDT

'Calm, cool and collected': Key takeaways from morning session

ABC News Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer, reporting from inside the hearing room, said the big takeaway so far is that Jackson has stayed "calm, cool and collected." With no major missteps or gaffes, he said, and a slim Democratic majority on her side, she appears on her way to Senate confirmation.

There was some tension in the morning session when Sen. Lindsey Graham asked Jackson a barrage of questions on her faith, to which she declined to go in-depth, saying she's "mindful of the need for the public to have confidence in my ability to separate out my personal views."

Graham, who let it be known his favored nominee was not selected, went on to say he wasn't trying to attack Jackson but make a point about how "our people" – conservative judicial appointees – have been treated in the past.

In the afternoon session, Republicans are expected to continue pressing Jackson on court precedent, her record as a federal public defender and representation of Guantanamo Bay detainees, and her sentences for child sex offenders, among other issues.

As senators try to probe her judicial philosophy, Jackson told the committee that she has developed a methodology that she uses when approaching any case to ensure impartially and stressed that she views her role as a judge as "limited."

Catch up on key takeaways from Monday's session here.

Mar 22, 2022, 12:58 PM EDT

Confirmation hearings break for lunch

The Senate Judiciary Committee has gone into a break until approximately 1:30 p.m. after a marathon morning of questions from Democrats and Republicans on the committee considering Judge Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

After the break, 15 more senators will have 30 minutes each for one on one questions with Jackson, giving them the chance to probe her judicial philosophy, her record as a public defender and her legal opinions spanning nearly nine years on the bench.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The grilling is unlike any other for federal judges or political nominees in large part because of the nature of the high court and the justices' lifetime tenure.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer

Mar 22, 2022, 12:51 PM EDT

Cornyn questions Jackson on same-sex marriage

In his questioning, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, asked Judge Jackson about same-sex marriage and asserted that the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which said same-sex marriage is a fundamental right, conflicts with the beliefs of some religions.

"When the Supreme Court decides that something that is not even in the Constitution is a fundamental right and no state can pass any law that conflicts with the Supreme Court's edict, particularly in an area where people have sincerely held religious beliefs, doesn't that necessarily create a conflict between what people may believe as a matter of their religious doctrine or faith and what the federal government says is the law of the land?" Cornyn asked.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, March 22, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

"That is the nature of a right," Jackson replied. "That when there is a right it means that there are limitations on regulation, even if people are regulating pursuant to their sincerely held religious beliefs."

Pressed further on whether that is an act of judicial policymaking, Jackson said the Supreme Court considered that to be an "application of the substantive due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," which ensures equal protection under the law.

Cornyn continued to bash the court for what he called establishing a new "unenumerated right" and asked Jackson, what other unenumerated rights are "out there."

"Senator, I can't say. It's a hypothetical that I'm not in a position to comment on. The rights that the Supreme Court has recognized as substantive due process rights are established in its case law," she said.

Later on, Cornyn lamented that he thinks "nominees from both parties tend to be over-coached."

-ABC News' Trish Turner

Mar 22, 2022, 12:16 PM EDT

Jackson’s family shows support inside hearing room

Judge Jackson’s family members showed their support again on the second day of her confirmation hearings with their steady presence inside the hearing room as she fielded, at times, contentious questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Jackson’s husband, Patrick, a general surgeon, was again seated behind Jackson. Photographers snapped photos of him sporting Benjamin Franklin-themed socks and jotting down notes during the morning session.

PHOTO: Patrick Jackson, husband of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, wears Benjamin Franklin-themed socks as he attends a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Judge Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court in Washington, March 22, 2022.
Patrick Jackson, husband of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, wears Benjamin Franklin-themed socks as he attends a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Judge Jackson's nomination to the Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Jackson’s parents, Johnny and Ellery Brown, were also in the audience, near two seats reserved for Jackson's daughters, Talia, 21, and Leila, 17. Leila arrived in the room after the morning break.

PHOTO: Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, right, testifies as her family from far left, brother Ketajh Brown, and parents Johnny and Ellery Brown, listen, March 22, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, right, testifies about how her parents attended segregated schools, as her family from far left, brother Ketajh Brown, and parents Johnny and Ellery Brown, listen, during the second day of her confirmation hearing, March 22, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

In an emotional moment on Monday, Jackson's daughters looked to their father as he wiped away tears while Jackson read her opening statement.

-ABC News' Trish Turner

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