News
Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in as first Black female Supreme Court justice
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/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. (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.”
News
‘I’ll bring my plane… I plan on keeping it for another four years’ – Biden on second debate with Trump
President Biden and former President Trump agreed to hold a second debate Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News.
The two candidates had already accepted an invitation earlier Wednesday to attend a CNN debate on June 27, and both confirmed later in the day on social media that they plan to attend the ABC debate in September.
“I’ve also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10th,” Biden posted on the social platform X. “Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.”
Biden, of course, is referring to the presidential jet, Air Force One.
“It is my great honor to accept the CNN Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT in the History of the United States and a true Threat to Democracy, on June 27th,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Likewise, I accept the ABC News Debate against Crooked Joe on September 10th.”
It marked a whirlwind few hours that started with Biden’s campaign publicly proposing two deabtes in June and September and ended with both candidates agreeing to a date and host.
ABC News had planned to host a GOP primary debate in New Hampshire, but it was canceled after Trump and Nikki Haley said they would not attend. Martha Raddatz of ABC co-moderated one of the 2016 presidential debates; the network did not host a debate in 2020.
The candidates have chosen to go around the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has arranged the showdowns dating back to 1988.
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon suggested working with outlets that hosted GOP primary debates in 2016 and Democratic primary debates in 2020 to avoid any perceptions of bias.
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs says it is investigating a plan by a lawmaker in central Niger state to marry off some 100 female orphans of unknown ages later this month.
Speaker of the Niger State Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji announced the mass wedding last week but called off the ceremony following widespread outrage.
Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, condemned the plans.
Kennedy-Ohanenye said she had petitioned the police and filed a lawsuit to stop the marriages pending an investigation to ascertain the age of the orphans and whether they consented to the marriages.
“This is totally unacceptable by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and by the government” of Nigeria, she said.
Last week, Sarkin-Daji announced his support for the mass wedding of the orphans, whose relatives were killed during attacks by armed bandits. He said it was part of his support to his constituents following an appeal for wedding funding by local traditional and religious leaders.
The mass wedding had been scheduled for May 24.
“That support I intend to give for the marriage of those orphans, I’m withdrawing it,” he said. “The parents can have the support [money], if they wish, let them go ahead and marry them off. As it is right now, I’m not threatened by the action of the minister.”
Despite national laws prohibiting it, forced or arranged marriage is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, especially among rural communities in the predominantly Muslim north, where religious and cultural norms such as polygamy favor the practice.
Poor families often use forced marriage to ease financial pressure, and the European Union Agency for Asylum says girls who refuse could face repercussions such as neglect, ostracism, physical assault and rape.
Raquel Kasham Daniel escaped being married off as a teenager when her father died and now runs a nonprofit helping children, especially less-privileged girls, get a formal education for free.
She said the ability of women to avoid forced marriage in Nigeria depends on their income and education.
“I was 16 when I lost my dad and I was almost married off, but then I ran away from home. And that gave me the opportunity to complete my education, and now I have a better life,” Daniel said.
“So, the reason why I prioritize education is to make sure that other girls have access to quality schooling so that it will help them make informed decisions about their lives. Education not only increases our awareness as girls about our rights but also enhances our prospects for higher income earning,” she said.
Thirty percent of girls in Nigeria are married before they turn 18, according to Girls Not Brides, a global network of more than 1,400 civil society groups working to end child marriage.
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