A day after the Senate confirmed Jackson 53 to 47, the White House hosted a presidential-level victory lap, featuring tear-filled speeches from President Biden and two of the women he has held up as proof that his presidency is making America more equitable: Jackson and Vice President Harris.
It was a history-making moment for Jackson, but also for Biden, who served as vice president to the first Black President, selected the first Black woman to be named vice president, and is now linked to another groundbreaking first.
“This is going to let so much sun shine on so many young women, so many young Black women, so many minorities,” said Biden, who told the crowd that nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court was one of the first decisions he made when he decided to seek the presidency a third time. “Today is a good day, a day that history is going to remember. And in the years to come, they’re going to be proud of what we did.”
Harris, who spoke just before Biden and presided over Jackson’s Senate confirmation vote a day earlier, said she “will inspire generations of leaders. They will watch your confirmation hearings and read your decisions in the years to come.”
The vice president told the crowd she penned a letter to her goddaughter as she sat in the Senate chamber before the vote. “Her braids are just a little longer than yours,” Harris told Jackson. “But as I wrote to her, I told her what I knew this would mean for her life and all that she has in terms of potential.”
All three touched on the personal and historic significance of the confirmation. But for an outdoor audience that featured nearly three dozen Democratic legislators, there was also political import.
Within hours of the event, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced it had purchased digital ads in local Black media outlets in five battleground states — Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — where increased Black turnout would benefit Democrats.
Two years after winning control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party faces a tough road in this year’s midterms. Approval ratings for Biden have plummeted and large parts of the Democrats’ agenda have stalled, including issues important to Black voters like police reform and voting rights.
Jackson’s ascension gives Democrats a clear sign of racial progress to tout. And the DSCC’s ads are a prelude to what’s expected to be a months-long effort by Democrats to use Jackson’s confirmation to their electoral benefit. One digital ad features photos of Jackson and warns, “Senate Republicans tried to stop her. We must defend the Democratic Senate.”
At the same time, some Republicans contend that opposing her is what their supporters would want, and several potential presidential aspirants were particularly tough. At her hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) suggested Jackson has gone easy on sex offenders. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) asked if she believes babies are racist, citing a book from a school where Jackson has served on the board. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), in a Senate floor speech, said Jackson might have defended Nazis.
From the South Lawn on Friday, Biden blasted some Republican senators for making the “most vile, baseless assertions and accusations.” In the moments after she was confirmed, as Democrats applauded, many Republican senators silently filed out of the…
Read More: Jackson joins Biden at the White House for a big moment
