Ketanji Brown Jackson is shown speaking during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.
Julia Nikhinson/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesThe Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote on Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson deadlocked on Monday. The 22 members of the committee began debate at 10 a.m. ET in consideration of Jackson’s qualifications to serve on the Supreme Court. The committee’s vote fell along party lines, with 11 Democrats voting for and 11 Republicans voting against the nomination.
Jackson’s nomination will likely be pushed to the Senate for a full vote with no official recommendation from the committee. The committee has historically allowed nominees, such as Robert Bork and current Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to move on to the Senate floor, as a courtesy, regardless of the tie.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has made a formal call for a vote to release Jackson’s nomination to the full Senate.
The exact date of the final full Senate vote on Jackson’s confirmation remains unknown, but Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin has said he hopes to have it by April 8. Should the Senate vote be deadlocked along party lines as well, Vice President Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaking vote.
President Joe Biden nominated Jackson to the Supreme Court in February. If confirmed, Jackson would replace Associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and make history as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
