Ketanji Brown Jackson confirmed as first Black woman Supreme Court justice
President Joe Biden’s first Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, has been confirmed by a vote on the Senate floor. Having garnered the support of three Republican senators – Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitt Romney – she also received the support of all 50 Democrats, becoming the court’s first Black woman justice.
The vote comes after a seven-week nomination process that saw her heavily criticised by Republicans who focused on her supposed record of leniency towards sexual offenders who targeted children. That criticism was in turn widely rejected as a distortion of her past decisions.
Earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced she has tested positive for Covid-19, this just having appeared next to President Biden, Chuck Schumer, and other senior figures at a bill signing.
Ms Pelosi’s diagnosis means that three of the top 10 people in the presidential line of succession are currently known to be infected with the virus. The speaker’s team say she is currently asymptomatic.
Meanwhile, in Thursday’s White House press briefing, Jen Psaki dismissed Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s plan to bus migrants from the southern border to Washington DC as a “publicity stunt”.
Jackson will join more diverse and conservative high court
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will join a Supreme Court which is ever more diverse and conservative than it’s been since the 1930s.
After being selected with a 53-47 vote by the Senate, she will join the court in the next several months, until Justice Stephen Breyer retires.
When Jackson takes the bench as a justice for the first time, in October, she will be one of four women and two Black justices — both high court firsts.
And the nine-member court as a whole will be younger than it’s been for nearly 30 years, when Breyer, now 83, came on board.
Shweta Sharma8 April 2022 07:11
Delays expected in passing $10bn in Covid aid in Senate – report
A bill to pour $10bn more into Covid programs is reportedly being delayed until after Easter when the senators return from their two-week spring break, reported Politico, citing multiple senators.
“The Republicans are playing politics with the health of the American people,” said senator Elizabeth Warren. “Blocking Covid protection money is a ticking time bomb for public health. So Democrats will come back and try to get the money we need, but this is not a good day for the health of the world.”
This comes after Senate Republicans move to block the legislation from advancing as they were not guaranteed an amendment vote on reinstating Title 42 — a policy by Mr Trump that allowed expulsion of migrants at the border during the pandemic.
Shweta Sharma8 April 2022 06:58
Chinese scientist sentenced over 2 years prison for ‘spying’
Department of Justice sentenced over two years of prison term to a Chinese national for “conspiring to commit economic espionage”.
Xiang Haitao, 44, who was residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2022.
According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade secret from The Climate Corporation, an internationally based company doing business in St Louis, Missouri, for the purpose of benefitting the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“Xiang conspired to steal an important trade secret to gain an unfair advantage for himself and the PRC,” said assistant attorney general Matthew G Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
“The victim companies invested significant time and resources to develop this intellectual property. Economic espionage is a serious offense that can threaten US companies’ competitive advantage, and the National Security Division is committed to holding accountable anyone who steals trade secrets to benefit a foreign government.”
Shweta Sharma8 April 2022 05:41