WASHINGTON, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Susan Collins became the first Republican senator to voice support for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve in the U.S. Supreme Court, as the highest institution in the federal judiciary is under the spotlight.
"I have concluded that she possesses the experience, qualifications, and integrity to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court," Collins, of Maine, said in a statement. "I will, therefore, vote to confirm her to this position."
Jackson, nominated by President Joe Biden in late February, would be the first African American woman to sit on the Supreme Court if confirmed.
At age 51, she is currently a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, often referred to as the nation's second most powerful court.
The decision by Collins signals the nomination of Jackson is likely to pass the evenly-divided Senate without the need for a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.
Top Democrats and the White House had reportedly worked heavily to court Collins, a moderate Republican.
It is not clear if any other Republicans will vote for Jackson, with U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah considered potential "yes" votes.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held confirmation hearings for Jackson last week, in which several Republican senators repeatedly pressed the judge over her record of child pornography sentencing in a manner drawing the ire of their Democratic colleagues.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman and Democrat Dick Durbin told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday that he thought that "four or five" Republican senators on the committee treated the nominee disrespectfully, despite their pledge to hold a "dignified" process.
Biden announced in late February he was nominating Jackson to succeed liberal Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who is about to retire this summer. It was one of his major campaign promises to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy with an African American woman.
Born in D.C. but raised in Miami, Jackson received her law degree from Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1996. Earlier in her legal career, she worked as an assistant federal public defender in D.C. and served as vice-chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission for four years.
This year, the Supreme Court will rule on cases involving a series of major issues, including abortion, affirmative action, and gun control.
Court watchers have argued Jackson is expected to vote very similarly to Breyer and her ascension won't change the Supreme Court's ideological balance, in which conservatives have a 6-3 majority over liberals.
The high court is also attracting media attention because Justice Clarence Thomas is facing ethics questions due to his wife's alleged efforts to push for the overturn of the 2020 presidential election results.
Democrats are calling for Thomas to recuse himself from certain cases they believe could present a conflict of interest, while Republicans are throwing support behind the judicial conservative.
Thomas was nominated by former U.S. President George H. W. Bush to succeed Justice Thurgood Marshall and has served the post since 1991.
He is the second African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, after Marshall.
The Supreme Court is the final appellate court of the U.S. judicial system, with the power to review and overturn lower court decisions, and is also generally the final interpreter of federal law, including the country's constitution.
The justices have life tenure and can serve until they die, resign, retire, or are impeached and removed from office. ■