Biden Picks Ketanji Brown Jackson as his Supreme Court Nominee

President Joe Biden has selected Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as his pick to fill the Supreme Court seat that will be vacated by Justice Stephen Breyer at the end of the term this summer.  If she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, which is split 50-50 along party lines, she will be the first black woman on the high court's bench.  Her nomination, once sent to the Senate, will be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  After confirmation hearings, her nomination will go to the Senate floor for a final vote.

Judge Brown, 51, has served for eight years as federal trial court judge, and was on a short list of contenders considered by the White House.  Last June, she was confirmed for a seat on the D.C. Court of Appeals.  Her most prominent decision to date was perhaps an opinion ordering President Trump's former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify in the House Judiciary Committee's investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. It is believed that her addition to the Supreme Court would not fundamentally shift its 6-3 conservative majjority balance.