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Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as first Black female Supreme Court justice

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3 years ago

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Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in on Thursday as the newest Supreme Court justice — becoming the first Black woman ever to serve on the high court.

Jackson, 51, took the constitutional oath from Chief Justice John Roberts and judicial oath from 83-year-old Justice Stephen Breyer, whose retirement became official just minutes before the swearing-in ceremony.

Her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, held the Bible as the oaths were administered.

Breyer informed President Biden on Wednesday that his retirement would take effect Thursday at noon ET after the court issued its last two opinions before taking a summer recess. The court’s next term begins on Oct. 3.

Jackson’s addition to the bench will not change the ideological alignment of the court, which remains 6-3 in favor of conservatives appointed by Republican presidents.

She joins as the Supreme Court reaches a record low in public confidence after a number of unpopular decisions, including the stripping of reproductive rights from millions of Americans.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday. (Supreme Court/Handout via Reuters)

Biden selected Jackson to fill Breyer’s seat in February, and she was confirmed by the Senate in April with the support of all 50 members of the Democratic caucus and three Republicans.

She becomes the 116th justice and first federal public defender in the court’s history, fulfilling Biden’s campaign promise of appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

Biden had previously nominated Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last summer. Prior to that, she had served as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2013 as well as the vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. After growing up in South Florida, Jackson attended Harvard for both undergrad and law school.

Jackson is the third Black person to serve on the court, following Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas, now the court’s oldest member after Breyer’s retirement. She is the sixth woman to serve, and this is the first time four women have served together, with Jackson joining Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett on the current bench.

President Biden embraces Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as they watch the Senate vote on her nomination to the Supreme Court from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 7.

President Biden embraces Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as they watch the Senate vote on her nomination to the Supreme Court from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 7. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

During her March confirmation hearings in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Jackson discussed what her being in that position meant, saying, “My parents taught me that unlike the many barriers that they had to face growing up, my path was clearer, so that if I worked hard and believed in myself, in America I could do anything or be anything I wanted to be.

“When I was born here in Washington, my parents were public school teachers, and to express both pride in their heritage and hope for the future, they gave me an African name: Ketanji Onyika, which they were told means ‘lovely one,’” she continued.

Jackson was supported at the hearings by her husband and two daughters, to whom she said, “Girls, I know it has not been easy as I’ve tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood. I fully admit I did not always get the balance right, but I hope that you’ve seen with hard work, determination and love, it can be done.”

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Bizarre Epstein files reference to Trump, Putin, and oral sex with ‘Bubba’ draws scrutiny in Congress

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2 weeks ago

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November 14, 2025

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The latest tranche of emails from the estate of late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein includes one that contains what appear to be references to President Donald Trump allegedly performing oral sex, raising questions the committee cannot answer until the Department of Justice turns over records it has withheld, says U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

Garcia insists the Trump White House is helping block them.

In a Friday afternoon interview with The Advocate, the out California lawmaker responded to a 2018 exchange, which was included in the emails released, between Jeffrey Epstein and his brother, Mark Epstein. In that message, Mark wrote that because Jeffrey Epstein had said he was with former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, he should “ask him if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba.”

“Bubba” is a nickname former President Bill Clinton has been known by; however, the email does not clarify who Mark Epstein meant, and the context remains unclear.

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USDA head says ‘everyone’ on SNAP will now have to reapply

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2 weeks ago

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November 14, 2025

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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday said the Trump administration is planning to have all Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries reapply for the program due to alleged fraud.

The secretary said after receiving data on SNAP recipients from 29 red states that “186,000 deceased men and women and children in this country are receiving a check.”

“Can you imagine when we get our hands on the blue state data what we’re going to find?” she asked during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight.”

“It’s going to give us a platform and a trajectory to fundamentally rebuild this program, have everyone reapply for their benefit, make sure that everyone that’s taking a taxpayer-funded benefit through SNAP or food stamps, that they literally are vulnerable, and they can’t survive without it,” she added.

Every state has a periodic recertification process that requires SNAP or food stamp recipients to update their whereabouts and earnings, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Most municipalities require updated data every six to 12 months.

“Secretary Rollins wants to ensure the fraud, waste, and incessant abuse of SNAP ends,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement to The Hill. “Rates of fraud were only previously assumed, and President Trump is doing something about it. Using standard recertification processes for households is a part of that work. As well as ongoing analysis of State data, further regulatory work, and improved collaboration with States. “

Earlier this month, food stamps were threatened amid the government shutdown as the Trump administration argued against using contingency funds to fuel the welfare program.

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Trump orders Bondi to investigate Epstein’s ties to Clinton and other political foes

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2 weeks ago

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November 14, 2025

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NEW YORK (AP) — Acceding to President Donald Trump’s demands, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday that she has ordered a top federal prosecutor to investigate sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Trump political foes, including former President Bill Clinton.

Bondi posted on X that she was assigning Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the probe, capping an eventful week in which congressional Republicans released nearly 23,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate and House Democrats seized on emails mentioning Trump.

Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years, didn’t explain what supposed crimes he wanted the Justice Department to investigate. None of the men he mentioned in a social media post demanding the probe has been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epstein’s victims.

Hours before Bondi’s announcement, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he would ask her, the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Epstein’s “involvement and relationship” with Clinton and others, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman.

Trump, calling the matter “the Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans,” said the investigation should also include financial giant JPMorgan Chase, which provided banking services to Epstein, and “many other people and institutions.”

“This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” the Republican president wrote, referring to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of alleged Russian interference in Trump’s 2016 election victory over Bill Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Asked later Friday whether he should be ordering up such investigations, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One: “I’m the chief law enforcement officer of the country. I’m allowed to do it.”

In a July memo regarding the Epstein investigation, the FBI said, “We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

The president’s demand for an investigation — and Bondi’s quick acquiescence — is the latest example of the erosion of the Justice Department’s traditional independence from the White House since Trump took office.

It is also an extraordinary attempt at deflection. For decades, Trump himself has been scrutinized for his closeness to Epstein — though like the people he now wants investigated, he has not been accused of sexual misconduct by Epstein’s victims.

None of Trump’s proposed targets were accused of sex crimes

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