Wisconsin Dems Celebrate Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Historic Confirmation to US Supreme Court

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Gov. Tony Evers, and many other Democrats celebrated the historic elevation of the first Black woman to the highest court in the land. 

Wisconsin Democrats on Thursday celebrated the Senate’s confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, a historic event that makes her the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. 

“Judge Jackson’s lifetime of hard work and perseverance has prepared her well for this inspiring moment,” Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin said during a speech on the Senate floor. “I know Judge Jackson has the character, temperament, and experience we want in a justice on our highest court. I also know what this moment means to thousands of girls across Wisconsin, who after Judge Brown Jackson’s confirmation, will have even more proof that they can achieve big stuff too.” 

Baldwin was one of 53 senators who voted to confirm Jackson. Wisconsin’s Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, on the other hand, was one of 47 lawmakers—all Republicans—who voted against elevating Jackson to the Supreme Court. 

Thursday’s vote capped off an ugly confirmation process which saw Republicans smear Jackson—a Harvard educated federal judge—with racist and conspiracy-fueled attacks that played to the extreme fringes of their party, including adherents of the delusional QAnon conspiracy theory. 

Jackson handled the ugly attacks with fierce strength and determination—though she shouldn’t have had to—a fact President Joe Biden pointed out on Friday, during a White House.

“What Judge Jackson was put through was…verbal abuse, the anger, the constant interruptions, the most vile, baseless assertions and accusations,” Biden said. “In the face of it all, Judge Jackson showed the incredible character and integrity she possesses.” 

Jackson also celebrated the historic nature confirmation on Friday, appearing alongside Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on the White House lawn.

“It has taken 232 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States,” Jackson said. “But we’ve made it— we’ve made it—all of us, all of us…And our children are telling me that they see now more than ever that here in America anything is possible.”

Wisconsin Democrats also touted Thursday’s history-making moment. Here are some other reactions from Wisconsin’s state and federal Democrats, as well as the Democratic candidates for Johnson’s senate seat.