President Joe Biden is expected to announce Ketanji Brown Jackson as his pick to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court this afternoon.
If confirmed, Jackson would become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, and at 51 the second youngest appointment behind Amy Coney Barrett, 50.
For the first time in history, the high court would be comprised of five men and four women. As recently as 2009, there was only one woman.
Republican lawmakers are likely to question several of her rulings against the Trump administration from the U.S. District Court, for example she ordered Trump’s former White House counsel Donald McGahn to comply with a House subpoena declaring “presidents are not kings.”
Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Mitt Romney (Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), all backed Jackson when she was confirmation to the D.C. Circuit in a 53-to-44 vote. Biden has reached out with personal calls to Collins, Murkowski, and Lindsey Graham as he courts Republican votes and tries to hold off any Democratic defections.