Barack Obama salutes Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson for inspiring ‘young Black women like my daughters’

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Barack Obama has saluted Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, noting the judge has “already inspired young Black women like my daughters”.

The former US president reacted to the nomination on Twitter on Friday (25 February).

“I want to congratulate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on her nomination to the Supreme Court. Judge Jackson has already inspired young Black women like my daughters to set their sights higher, and her confirmation will help them believe they can be anything they want to be,” he wrote.

Mr Biden announced Judge Jackson’s nomination on Friday, describing her as “one of our nation’s brightest legal minds” set to become “an exceptional justice”.

The nomination comes after Justice Stephen Breyer’s announcement in January this year that he intends to retire once the Supreme Court goes into summer recess this year (usually around June or July).

Judge Jackson clerked for Justice Breyer between 1999 and 2000.

On Twitter, Mr Obama added: “As a protégé of Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson earned a reputation for pragmatism and consensus building. It’s part of why I nominated her twice – first as a district judge, and then to the US Sentencing Commission, where she earned praise from both Democrats and Republicans.

“Like Justice Breyer, Judge Jackson understands that the law isn’t just about abstract theory. It’s about people’s lives. @POTUS Biden has made an excellent choice, and I look forward to seeing Judge Jackson confirmed.”

Judge Jackson currently serves on the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Before that, she was a federal trial court judge. A graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School, she served on the US Sentencing Commission (a US government agency responsible for federal sentencing guidelines) and became a federal judge in 2013.